Persona: ЯeversE
by Ultimate Hellhound
Summary: Mirrors, They all perfectly reflect our appearances down to the most minimal of details, a perfect visual copy of what it faces. Yet, they can only imitate what is visible for them. A mere reflection of what it faces, a superficial copy, a Shadow. You seem to be able to tell yourself apart from your own reflection, your own shadow. Well done, now let the game begin./ OC Story
1. Prologue: Ichika Amano

**Hello there, Persona Fandom! I am Ultimate Hellhound and I'm pleased to make into your acquantances now. This is my first Persona fic and I know that I might be late for the party, but since I know AATLUS will continue to milk the franchise even without a new persona for the coming years and with my new interest rekindled to the series, I decided to try and make an original story based on such. It might not work very well considering all the things in the games and limitations of the literary transformation, but I'll try to keep it as close as possible as to with the games, social links/confidants and all... I'll at least try. Thnaks for your pacience and interest in this story, and have a good read, don't forget to R&R and have a nice day!**

**The persona series and SMT as a whole belongs to ATLUS. **

* * *

_"Welcome… To the **Velvet Room**."_

_It took a while for my eyes to get used to the sudden light coming from all directions, but when I got to tell left from right, I found myself in a completely alien place: The velvet carpet that extended all over the floor, the bright, golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and just like the walls, it was completely covered in mirrors. Mirrors, reflections, clean surfaces from above my head and across the walls that draws a polygonal circle around me like a dome, or a crystal. _

_However, the most prominent feature that I found in this already bizarre room laid in the middle of it: a long-nosed, bald gentleman of intense bloodshot stare and wide grin, sitting on a golden chair behind an equally sapphire-colored table, and right beside him, a young woman wearing an equally velvet stripped uniform decorated with golden buttons, her pale complexion matching her bright golden eyes and fair hair wrapped in a long ponytail, a mischievous smile drawn on her delicate-looking lips. Among all of this, there was I, sitting on a golden chair facing the mysterious duo in front of me, uncertain of everything that was happening…_

_Wasn't I sleeping before? Is this a dream? But everything feels so real, yet I don't remember ever being in a place like here. I bit my lips a little, and a little bit of pain spread across it. So this is real…_

_"Do not fret, my dear guest, for the you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream." Before I could say anything beforehand, the long-nosed gentleman lifted a hand for me and said such in a calm, composed yet mischievous voice. So, this is really a dream of a sorts, but then again, I feel everything. Really, what's going on? "My name is **Igor**, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance."_

_"…" I said nothing, only looked back at him. The young woman besides this Igor gentleman laughs with a hand blocking her mouth, while his grin wouldn't vanish at nothing._

_"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It's a room that only those who are bound by a contract of some sort may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future." Igor continues to talk as he reaches from behind his table to put on its surface a small blue paper right in front of me. From what I can see from here, it looks like a contract. Could it be… A contract for me? "And now, a simple test for our dear guest: would you mind stating your name?"_

_"…" I continued to stay put and shut, no reactions from me besides surprise and distrust. I have no idea where I am exactly, something-something Velvet room, how did I get here or why I am here, and despite Igor's tone, I still have no idea how to act, but… I don't know, I feel some strange urge to do as he's telling me. To state my name? That is quite easy, but for some reason, that simply escapes my mind for a few seconds, before I can finally say it: "**Ichika Amano**."_

_"Splendid." Igor says with his ever-present grin, and out of the sudden, the quill that laid besides the blue contract moved by itself and started to write my name on a specific line by the end of it, rolling back to Igor's white-gloved hands and into a nice, tidy parchment. "It seems that, even in the face of several, superficial reflections of yourself, you hold your own identity dearly within your soul."_

_"…?" I express some curiosity and doubt about his words, this whole affair getting more and more confusing. _

_"Are you aware of the several mirrors that surrounds us in this moment? They all perfectly reflect our appearances down to the most minimal of details, no cracks or deformations, a perfect visual copy of what it faces." Igor explains with a hand in the air for me, as my eyes wander around the said Velvet Room, seeing my reflection on the mirrored surface, from the walls to the ceiling, all of them showing a perfect image of myself on its clean surface. I turn my attention back to Igor, who continues with his speech. "Yet, they can only mirror what is visible for them. A mere reflection of what it faces, a pure superficial copy, a **Shadow**, if you may. You seem to be able to tell yourself apart from your own reflection, instead of being unsure of which is which. Well done."_

_"…" I gulp a dry one hard. The 'reflection of oneself'? A 'shadow'? This is getting really bizarre, but little by little I think I am understanding what he means by 'getting a hold of myself' or something._

_"Now then, it seems that you hone a quite unique power, and as such, you were summoned here to discuss matters that might present themselves in a near future. Matters that, if left uncheck, will engulf the future as a fragile, hollow version of itself." I gasp with the sudden yet vague revelation that Igor gave me. He seems to notice my change of interest, and signals with his hand for me. "But fear not, my dear guest, for is my duty to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that such future does not happen. Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. As it might seem unclear for now, a path shall be open for you to reach the future you does so desire…"_

_"…" I remain silent by the end of his speech, only dumbly nodding to his words even though I have no idea of what kind of future he says holds me. A future that might become as fragile and hollow as a reflection? I can only imagine. He soon turns his attention to the young woman besides him._

_"Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you." He says with a slight apologetic bow, as he signed with his hands to the young woman, making my attention shift to her. "This is **Agatha**. She is a resident of this place, like myself."_

_"Hello there, Ichika." Unlike her supposed master, the young woman in velvet named Agatha enthusiastically lifted her hand in a cheerful wave and a cutesy nickname for me. "I am Agatha. Let's make this journey the best there ever was! You can count on me for that, so I'm counting on you!"_

_"…" I said nothing, only nodded yet again for her. I return my attention to Igor._

_"Seems we don't have much time as for now. We shall attend to the details another time." Igor concluded, and for some reason, even though this was supposed to be a dream, by eyelids suddenly start to get heavier and heavier, and my conscious little by little slips away. I feel sleepy. "Until then, farewell…"_

_And then, I couldn't say anything else but feel my body get lighter as my consciousness slips away, until there was nothing but blankness, and then… Silence._

* * *

**4/9(20XX) – Sunday (Cloudy) – Evening**

***BUMP!***

"Yeow…!"

"Ah, sorry Ichika! I hit a bump back there! But that's what happens when you sleep in the car." And I hear a feminine voice call for me as I massage a small affected area on my forehead, my legs trying but failing to find some ground for me to stand. I put myself sit, scratching my eyes a few times and yawning to get rid of my sleepiness. When I come back to myself, I finally can tell where I am now: I'm inside a car on the back seats, laying lazily on the leather couch and using my backpack as a pillow. In the driver's seat, there was a short-haired brunette, **_Ranko,_** driving the car as we crossed a few cities coming from Tokyo until we reach our destination. I saw her blink a few times with her grey orbs and turn to me with a smile. "Oh, but look! We're already here! **_Mizuzuki_**, your new home from now on!"

She says so enthusiastically, and while I'm still a bit groggy from the nap of before and that freaky dream I had, I swipe my black bangs away and turn my attention to the window and saw a completely new location: an urban area filled with tall buildings and shops, not unlike but not as big as Tokyo, people running around like crazy cockroaches and light coming from all directions, making me a little dizzy. So, this is Mizuzuki, huh? My home from now on…

Soon enough, the buildings and urban chaos settles down and we found ourselves in a quieter, more homely area. Little houses lined around the neighborhood, undistinguished from one another, completely normal for the common eye. Suddenly, we stop by the last house at the end of the street, just as generic as the others but with a less lively colors for some reason. The car parks at the small space near the entrance, and the it turns off, Ranko getting herself off the car to stretch herself and turn to me. I look at the small board at the entrance with a name written in it: '**_Kobayashi'_**. Her maiden name, apparently.

"Well, let's go, sleepy head! That luggage isn't going to dispose itself." He says with a few knocks on window where I was facing.

"…" I said nothing, only yawned a few times to get rid of my sleepiness, put myself sit on the backseat and open the door to a new place. I put my feet down on the concrete to have some standing and closed the door. I turn around to see the double-store house where the car is parked, not different from the others around, and certainly bigger than a Tokyo apartment. So, this is the place I'll be living from now on, huh?

"Welcome home, Ichika. It might be much like Tokyo, but it is something, right?" I turn around to Ranko, who was opening the back door of the car to pick my black trunk, backpack and briefcase to gently put it on the ground, as she reached for her pocket to pick a set of keys and walk to the front door of the house. With nothing else to do, I reach for my luggage and carry it there too, following her to inside the house and into my new home. "It's a good thing this house have a spare room, although it used to give me such an empty vibe, though. But hey, it helps me write in peace, so that's that."

"…" I shrug, entering the house that doesn't look any different from a normal one: a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, stairs leading to the upper floor, a backyard garden and a few mirrors lifted here and there, nothing out of the ordinary besides the abnormal number of bookshelves spreads around the house and a few papers on the floor, all of them with a few letters written on them. I turned to Ranko, and she flashed me an embarrassed smile.

"Hahah, whoops. Sorry, I was hoping that I would be able to clean it before meeting you at the station, but I guess I'm not as young as I used to be. Heheheh…" She bowed to me, bending over so that she could pick some of the wandering pieces of paper scattered around the floor. She picked a few there, a few here, and then sighed. Suddenly, she blinked herself wide, and turned to me with a smile. "Oh hey! How about this: you go to your room and kill some time to get used to it while I clean around down here and make dinner? Don't worry about helping, I just want you to feel at home here! It's the first room in the left!"

"…" I was about to help her clean the house but maybe she's right. I am a newcomer here, I should do as the host says and avoid getting myself in trouble, even if she's really my… I shake my head to get rid of those thoughts, bow myself down to excuse myself and carry my luggage and backpack upstairs.

I wasn't carrying much with those, so lifting them up the stairs wasn't that much of a burden, once I was in the second floor, I traced my way to the direction she indicated for me and opened the door leading to a new room. I look around the new location: a simple room with a single bed with a nice and tidy uniform laying on it, a studying table, a rolling chair, a wardrobe too big for so little clothes I carry, a large window and a mirror hanging from one of the walls, big enough that I could see my whole reflection on it. I dump my backpack on the reading table and the rest besides my head, letting myself crash on the bed to look at the ceiling, a single lamp hanging from above my head…

So, this is my new room, my new home, my new guardian and my new town from now on, huh? I guess I can get used to it.

* * *

**4/9(20XX) – Sunday (Cloudy) – Evening****→ Nighttime**

"Ichika~! Come downstairs! Dinner is ready!" After an entire evening of work, I got done with all of my luggage, clothes and belongings on several parts of my new room, all of them neatly put in their respective places and even then this place is a bit too big and empty for me. Oh well, I guess I just need to get used to this from now on. I get up from the bed, dust myself a few times and then head downstairs where I can hear Ranko calling for me. I guess its dinner time already? For how long was I sleeping?

I come downstairs and Ranko greets me with a smile and a handwave, signing a hand leading to the dining room where I could see a two plates of curry and rice and cups of water resting on the table. It's a simple but wholesome dish, and more than enough, like dad used to do. I followed her to the room and sat in front of her to eat. I paid our prayers and started to dig in, no words between us as I ate that spicy but tasty dish. Ranko turned to me for a second, opened her mouth like a fish, close it again, and turned her attention to the dish. After a while, she turned to me again and smiled.

"So, uh… You're starting school tomorrow, right? Man, that was such a rushed thing but we were able to get yourself transferred to **Kagami highschool**, huh? Lucky, aren't we? I even got the uniform ready on top fo your bed…" She says with a smile and another spoonful of rice and curry, and I nod to her with nothing else to say. A moment of silence between us yet again, and she continued: "I know it's hard for you to bid goodbye to your friends back in Tokyo, even more after what happened to your father, but hey, you can make friends here too, y'know? The neighbors are also nice to talk to, and if you're bored, Mizuzuki has also some arcades, a few malls and even that new JUNES that opened not too long ago! You'll be able to work a part-time job around here too, but if you want an allowance, don't hesitate to ask me anything, alright?"

"…" I nod at her statements again. Surely, Mizuzuki doesn't look a bit like Tokyo, but doesn't look bad either, especially considering that even at evening this place looks calm. I bite another spoonful of grains and gravy, and she continues to talk.

"So, uh, Ichika… Is the curry okay? I hope it's okay. It has been a while since… I cooked for someone else, so I don't know if it turned out okay." She asks. She stopped eating and is now just playing with her food with the spoon. I turn to her, I turn to the curry, take another spoonful and then back to her.

"It's good… _Ranko_." I say in a lower tone. She wide her eyes in surprise to me, and then deflates back to normal, half-lifted eyes and a bitter smile on her face. I didn't want to upset her, and the curry is really good although not the best, but even so… I hear her sigh and take another bite.

"_Ranko_, huh? I guess it can't be helped, it's only natural…" She whispers, and she knowing or not I can hear her. To think even family can get so distant despite being so close, both literally and whatnot. In the end, silence reign over us again, and so to distract both of us, Ranko picks up the control and aimed it at the tv, turn it on. "How about some tv, then? The weather has been so cloudy, I hope it doesn't rain during your first day."

"…" I nod back, and turned my attention to the tv, which a news anchor was hosting a program.

_'… And this is our report about chicken grilled steak and why you shouldn't stick them inside your rectum while doing a macarena. In other news, in an urgent report coming in, the phenomenon now known as the **Cracking Breakdown** has apparently claimed another victim today. The victim, **Hana Yamada**, age 33, was found dead after colliding with her car against a store, her body presenting crack-like wounds all over and her autopsy showing signs of severe cranial damage and internal bleeding not from the clash. However, the most abnormal fact in such story is the fact that her body presents signs of gangrene and rigor mortis despite relatives and close ones claiming she was healthy prior her breakdown. Just like other victims, Mrs. Hana caused quite an accident prior her death, even more with her driving license suspended after being caught drinking and driving a few months before. Fortunately, there were no more casualties besides light injuries from the store workers. And now, for the weather…'_

"Whoa, that was depressing. Another case of those **Cracking Breakdowns**, huh?" And the mood turned a bit somber with the news about those Cracking Breakdowns that have been happening for quite a while, making Ranko lower the volume. Not just around here, but people were also talking about it in Tokyo, and I even heard from a classmate that he almost got hit by a train when someone who suffered a breakdown pushed him and a crowd down the train rails. I just hope it doesn't get out of hand or spread even further. Suddenly, Ranko clapped her hands down, and her upbeat tone returned. "Oh, but look at time, time sure flies when you have company, huh? And I'm already done with my dish like you, so maybe we'll call it a day, okay? I will get the dishes done, you get up and sleep way, wouldn't want to be late for school tomorrow now, would you?"

"…" I said nothing while looking down on the empty plate in front of me. Ranko, still smiling, started to pick up the spoons and the plates for herself to then walk towards the sink and start to clean up the dishes. While passing my own, however, I could see a couple of band-aids and cuts on her fingers. So I guess it has been a while since she has done something like that. I stand up myself and walked to the sink besides her. She tilts her head to a side, and I pick the sponge and detergent. "I'll… I'll help."

"Oh… Oh, okay!" She blinks a few times in surprise, but then smiles warmly, passing me a few dishes and the spoons for me to dry up. It wasn't much, but I feel like if I'm going to stay here, might as well help a little. It is my fault that she has to take me in, but I feel like we can get along somehow. I can also feel her gratitude despite being such a minor task…

**[**🎶**! ****KINDNESS – Inoffensive]**

"Well, thanks for your hard work for today." She thanks me with a warm smile, and I bow my head to her. She discards her gloves and then walks towards the living room, where a tiny table with a notebook computer and a cup of coffee was waiting for her. She sat down in front of it, turned to me and waved. "Now then, you should go to bed. Don't worry about me, I'll be here writing a little and then I'll go to bed. If anything, the bathroom is the second door to the right upstairs. Well then, goodnight…"

"…" That's right. **Ranko Amano**, or rather **Ranko Kobayashi** now, is a novelist which is known to write quite a few tear-jerking mystery stories despite her relatively young age, she even had a best-seller honor for quite some time. This explains the paper around the house and the entire shelves of books, no that it matters to me, anyway. I turned to the stairs with the intents of taking a bath and going to sleep. But even so, I gave the tired writer one last glimpse, and then we shared stares for a while. "Goodnight."

And then I took my way upstairs. Truth to be told, I might get used to the enviroument here, not as loud or agitated as Tokyo, and even with the cold spring weather, I manage to stay away from allergies this past month. I guess living here won't be so bad after all, but even so… Dad.

I take one step into my room, but stop right on my tracks when I saw a silhouette on the wall. My new room was dark and silent, yet from the small glimpses of light coming from the corridor I could see a shadow creeping and standing tall in one of the walls. It wasn't moving, it wasn't doing any sound, it was just… There, standing tall and immobile.

A chill ran down my spine as I slowly moved my head to the side and flee while maintaining close eye contact with the intruder, but then he moved as well! Calm down, Ichika, do anything brusque and everything can go south real quick. Just… Reach for something, anything, and wait for the best. My hand started to gently grope the walls in an attempt to find the switch and take a quick glimpse of the intruder, and while it remained immobile, I could hear the light touching on the walls. Suddenly, my hands reach for something solid, and then touching it a little more I could feel that it was the switch. If I switch it on, maybe I can see myself in a better situation, so with that in my I reach it with my finger, find the interrupter with it and then with a swift flick I turn the lights on…!

Only to find that the intruder was in fact… My own reflection on the mirror, the image of a black haired, grey-eyed high-schooler with a stare that was reflecting both confusion and embarrassment. I let out a loud sigh in relief and embarrassment for that, and reached for my things for a shower. After that, I need to get rid of the sweat. I picked everything I needed and took my way straight to the said second room on the right…

…!

"…?" What the…? I don't know why, but I felt something when I passed right in front of the mirror that almost gave me a heart attack a few seconds ago. I don't know, I felt… Weird. In fact, I still feel a little irked by staying right in front of it. It's like my reflection is calling me or something. Was the trip too much for me and now I'm having hallucinations? But still… I put my clothes down, and turned myself to the mirror, and I feel like it is starting to distort a little. I reached for it, my own reflection doing the same, and came closer to it, practically touching noses with my other me. I reached my hand to it, the reflection mimicking my every move, and then knocked a few times. "What the…?"

…

"…"

…

"…"

***WINK!***

"What the…?!" And I jumped away! I saw it! I just saw my own reflection winking back at me with a mischievous smile, and before I knew it, my reflection on the mirror was no more! What is going on?! Ugh… My head! It feels like it's trying to split itself open!

_'I see… So, for in this world if fake and shallowness, you remain strong to your true self. For the mirrors that reflect this world might cloud our minds, your reflection is the real form in which your heart is shown. Very well, let us form a pact…'_

"Ugh…!" This voice I've never heard before echoes inside my mind as the headache starts to get worse! But in the end, it started to subdue as the voice grows louder and louder!

_'… I shall grant you my power, and for it, you shall remain true and get stronger. For there are many which do not tell their hearts from their reflections, but for the likes of you, your eyes will remain clear and unclouded by the lying and misleading figures of the false divine!'_

"Ugh! Gah… Arf… Arf…" The headache finally stops, and when I snap myself into it everything is back to normal. My vision is a bit blurred, but once I blink a few times, I can finally tell left from right, I find myself in my room again. That's right, the mirror! I turn my attention to the mirror, and… there is only my reflection yet again. Wait, I crawl to it, one step at the time, and despite it doing the same, I'm still a bit cautious regarding it. I reach for my hand, touch the mirror and then… Nothing. Maybe if I just… I knock the mirror a few times with the knuckles on my hand, and nothing again. I do some poses here and there, shake the mirror a few times, and nothing at all… Ugh, maybe it's the trip from here, the tiredness is ready running my patience off. Maybe I should just give myself a warm shower and go to sleep earlier before anything else happens…

But just in case, I put a piece of cloth to cover the mirror.

And then, I go promptly to sleep once I take my bath and go to the bed. Tomorrow is the first day at my new school. I wonder how it'll be… I can only hope for a nice first day.


	2. Awakening

**Hey there, persona fandom! Hellhound here! i'm sorry for the delay for the second chapter and the rather short previous chapter, it was more like of an introduction than anything, plus, my notebook got a bug which totally messed with my schedule, but all things considered, here it is! The newest chapter! As always, dont forget to R&R and have a nice day! I hope you enjoy your read!**

**P.S.: In order to keep up with the persona games, the honorifics will stay regarding names despite the fact that the names will be in the western order. It always bugged me why keep the honorifics and change the order name, but eh. I hope you all enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Persona and its mother series Shin megami Tensei beloings to atlus and associates.**

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**4/10(20XX) – Monday (Cloudy) – Early Morning(Kobayashi residence)**

I snap my eyes open as I wake up from my slumber, facing a completely alien ceiling and a different aura in the air. So, it wasn't a dream, I am indeed in a new place, where I'll be for a while from now on. Will I be able to get used to all of this? A calmer, most subdued metropolis compared to Tokyo, maybe I won't be all that bad, all things considered…

Oh right, my first day of school, better get myself up and not be late for it. What was it again? Kagami Highschool, I put that name in the map of my cellphone so I wouldn't get lost, put my uniform of checked black-white pants, dark blue blazer and white shirt with a blue tie, picked my briefcase and walked downstairs to the first floor, but not before washing my face on the bathroom and clean my eyes from the crap I got during the night, wrapping my black hair in a short ponytail. Now, I look presentable. Heheh…

I head downstairs, briefcase at hand and wallet and keys on my pockets and get ready to face my first day in my new school as the new transferred student. However, as I walked down each step, I could hear the tv on. At the first floor, I turn my attention to the living room, and see Ranko pushing some Z's, head buried on her notebook besides a gigantic mug of coffee and pieces of paper all over the place with the tv on. I guess she has been doing her best too. Waking her up to give me a ride would be a real dick move, so I'll just leave her be, I guess. I picked a blanket, covered her with it and turned off the tv before heading out, eating a piece of toast while at it.

Mizuzuki, my new town and place. It's indeed not big as Tokyo but you can almost lose yourself in it. Following the instructions on the map on my phone, I pass around some boutiques, flower shops, cafes, even some diners I thought you would find only in Tokyo like those Big Bang Burger stores, a clean river crossing the streets below, showing that a bit of nature was still left despite the growing urban area, not to mention it looks like a perfect place for some fishing or something. All in all, it doesn't look like a bad place to live, not at all. However, it colors me surprise, there aren't people around the same age as me, or even using uniform. I wonder why?

***DRIP!***

"…?" I look up in the cloudy sky and I feel another drop of water fall in between my eyes. Soon, my entire vision starts to get misty, and I come to realize the rain. Man, a pour like that in my first day of school, Mom-… I mean, Anzu did mention that it would be rainy today, but to think it would be this soon. No matter, I reach for my briefcase and picked from inside a black umbrella, unfolding it to protect myself from the drops. I sigh, wiping off the water off the screen of my phone to look at the map in it and find myself in it. "Let's see, according to the map… There's a **Chrono Rabbit** cafe around here, and if I reach for it and turn to the left… A Stray Sheep bar around the corner, go the opposite direction and then…"

***BUMP!***

"Oof…!"

"Kyah~…!" But when I was about to turn around to follow the arrow on my phone, I end up bumping into someone. My umbrella rolled but fortunately didn't fall off my hand, but I hear a wet splashing sound of something hitting the ground. I blink a few times to shake off the confusion and turn my attention to the direction that bump came from, only to see a new person besides me in this deserted neighborhood: a dark-haired, grey-eyed bespectacled young woman wearing that same uniform of dark-blue blazer, white shirt and a blue bolero tie as me, the only difference being the checked magenta-black skirt which, by the way, is too short for her… I think I saw a glimpse of something light blue. She shook her head a few times and looked up to me. "Huh…?"

"Uh~… My bad. Are you okay?" I said to the fallen girl, extending her a helping hand and my eyes trying to trail elsewhere so I wouldn't catch that same glimpse from before, even though it is now burned into my brain forever. The **bespectacled girl** blinked a few times, and without my help, stood up from the ground, used her hands to dry her hand and bowed to me. Now that I think about it, she wasn't carrying an umbrella at all.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for your consideration." She replies in a soft, almost whispering voice, now using a handkerchief to clean her glasses. She was still in the middle of the rain, so I came closer to shield her from the pouring she didn't notice until now. She blinks back at me with a surprise look. "…?"

"It's raining, and you don't have an umbrella, so… You can stay under mine for a while." I said with a bit of pink tinting my cheeks. Whoa, girls do smell nice when this close. The Bespectacled girl blinked a few times, and then gasped looking up, as if she just noticed that it was raining. As fast as she could, she reaches her hands for her own case and brought up her own yellow umbrella. So, she has one of those.

"Thank you, but… I got one of my own. I was just… Distracted." She responds, and I arch an eyebrow for that. I mean, being so distracted she didn't even notice the pouring around? It's just a drizzle, but even so. She bows to me one last time, a light blush decorating her cheeks, and takes her way to another direction. "You are also a student in Kagami highschool, right? We should get going, or else we'll be going to be late."

"Ah, right." I said to her back. However, her serious tone and stare soon morphed into something more confused and misdirected. She shook her head around, eyes scanning everywhere, and suddenly, she sighed, retaking her way. I tilted my head to a side in curiosity. "Huh, is something wrong?"

"I… I… I don't know where I am." She sighs. A sweat drop fell from my head as the bespectacled girl turned her head to the floor and saw a book floating on the waters. She picked it up and sighed, putting it back into her pack and taking her route once again. "I should stop reading while walking, I got distracted again…"

"Uhhh… Okay…" I said to myself, turning my head to a random direction and covering my mouth so she wouldn't notice my grimace for her misadventures in case she would turn around. It seems that are some lively people here as well. In my wandering eyes, I caught a glimpse of something floating on a nearby puddle, and so I bent over to catch a glimpse of it. It was a cover… Of a light-novel. Not just the cover, but the entire book was there. I wonder if that was another book she was reading before. But to think someone as serious-looking as that bespectacled girl would be reading… '_How I became a warlord mage in another world'_. I guess everybody has that side on them, right? Well, it seems Mizuzuki has also those figures. "Hey, isn't that book also y-…?"

I turn around to return the book to her, or at least question her about its ownership, but before I knew it, she was gone. No trace, no clues, that bespectacled girl just vanished completely. Huh, maybe the whole trip shook my head a lot more than I thought. Oh well, better save it and give it to her when a better opportunity arises, so I shake it a little to get rid of the water in it and put it inside my case. Talk about an eventful first day…

It didn't take much for me to finally see some people around my age walking around in the school uniform of Kagami high, all of them going to the same direction and chatting between themselves, looking at their phones or just lazily yawning to the morning routine; all the routes leading to a rather large building of white glassy walls, a few sports fields, a second building just as large and a gate of thick red bricks and a golden board writing the name '**_Kagami High Educational Establishment'_**. Kagami High, eh? Impressive.

"Hey, hey! Don't space out, you maggots! If you want a cure for demotivation and morose, me and my Kyouka will be more than ready to deliver it!" Shock! I didn't even cross the main gate I heard a thunderous, loud scream coming from inside, and taking a peek as I come closer, I see a middle-aged, shaggy-haired man wearing a grey school track suit and waving very dangerously a wooden kendo sword(shinai) close to the upcoming students. His voice was very authoritarian and low-tuned, like a sergeant's, but apparently everyone just shrugged it off or laughed at him. "I swear! If any of you even think of coming late, I will jet you back to class in one swift homerun! Just because I'm just a coach doesn't mean I don't have strength to spare to correct your sorry asses!"

'_Ugh, to think **Fujitaka-sensei** would still be lecturing us this year too~. Why doesn't he just drop dead?'_

_'I dunno, he is a great teacher and the football team he coached last year got to the finals in the juvenile cup.'_

_'I heard he's divorced. Wonder if he's dealing his frustrations by being such a dick. He really needs to get laid to stop being such a jerk…'_

"I heard that, you bunch of maggots! If you want to trash-talk me, be strong and face me head on!" I could listening to the nearby classmates talking about presumably teacher, Fujitaka-sensei, when the older male screamed back at us and hit his wooden sword on the nearby wall, making a loud clapping sound. Everyone around started to laugh and flee from the vicinity. Fujitaka-sensei, however like an eagle, shifted his attention to a running male student of shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes as the latter crossed the gates, but wasn't fast enough to escape the teacher's grasp, pulling him by the collar and making them face each other. "And how about you, **Akabane**?! Late again?! Boy, you don't learn even after an entire semester with my Kyouka!"

"Gyaaah! Let me go, Fujitaka-sensei! Gimme a break, this is the first day!" The boy wearing that same uniform but with a red shirt inside his shirt and with sleeves and hems pulled up, **Akabane**, could only scream in tears and protests as he tried but failed to escape the teacher's firm hold onto himself.

"And you will remember this day as the last day you get late, boy! Now, time for some lecture about discipline and punctuality from Kyouka!"

"No, not the Kyouka! _NOOOOOOOO_…!" And his screamed echoed across the drops of rain and school signal as Fujitaka-sensei descended his wooden sword against the former's rear. I thought this was something about abuse or a prank, but I heard people sighing or laughing at the scenem, saying that '_Fujitaka caught one in the first day'_, '_just like last year'_ or '_let Fujitaka have his fun'_. Apparently, this is an old thing here in Kagami high, so I better leave them be, no matter how much his screams reach me…

It didn't take long for me to enter the school ground, change my shoes for my inside wear and head to the teacher's office where I should meet with someone named **Aoi Katase**-sensei, who would be my homeroom teacher for the year. Certainly, reaching for the second floor on the third-store student's building, I was greeted by a dark blue-haired woman of short locks, dark eyes and rosy lips in a smile, who called for my attention with a wave. I walked towards her table and bowed to her.

"Ah, you must be Ichika Amano-kun, right? You're the transferred student from Tokyo, and from now on, I will be your homeroom teacher." She asks in a silky voice, and I could only bow slowly for her correct answer as I reached for her hand to shake hers.

"Yes, I am Ichika. And you must be… Katase-sensei." I slowly declared, reaching closer and closer to her hand, but suddenly she pushed me to shake mine with both of hers, her smile growing wilder and shinier as I was put off-balance by her sudden friendliness.

"You're Ranko Kobayashi's son, right? I just want you to know, I'm a big fan of your mother's work! She has such way with words, and her stories and books are so full of life and significance, I can only dream of writing something as good as her works! If I may, would you ask for her autograph for me?" Katase-sensei said it enthusiastically, and I could only silently nod to her fangirling about Ranko. I knew her work had a very broad demographic considering their position in some libraries, but to think even my teacher would be a fan of hers. She soon stops shaking my head like a crazy woman, adjusts her hair a little and turns back to me. "Oh, sorry about that. It's just that this is the first time I had the pleasure to meet someone who touched so close to my heart, I couldn't let this opportunity pass."

"Uh… That's alright, sensei. I'm used to this." I try to stray the awkwardness away from the air around us with those words and a sheepish scratch on the back of my head. Katase-sensei smiles with a clap of her hands and nods to me.

"Okay, okay. Well then, I think I should present you to class, then. Don't worry, Kagami high is not like back in Tokyo. I heard there are a lot of delinquents back there, but you don't have to worry about those around here… At least not much." She starts to blabber, but I know what she means about it. Tokyo is my home, but I know that place is not the friendliest, specially considering what happened a few years back about a real criminal going to school which was already infamous for being the center of a few scandals. But anyway, she passes me a few paperwork and then stood up from her seat. "This is your schedule for the week and months to come, the possible clubs that are still on and the name of some of the staff. Now then, follow me, let's meet your new classmates."

And for that, I was off, following her to the class 2-D on the second floor on the school building…

* * *

**Early Morning****→ Morning(Kagami High)**

"Okay, okay, students. Settle down, I have an announcement to make, so I want you all to pay attention right now." Katase-sensei said to the rather unruly classroom which we stood, class 2-D, and after such warning, the whole place settled down and quiet, not a single student off from their seat despite some of them sitting in rather different ways. As Katase-sensei lectured me, I wrote my name on the board and put myself beside her. Katase-sensei signals a hand in my direction. "This is your new classmate, Ichika Amano. He's transferring today from Tokyo, so I want you all to welcome him to both Mizuzuki and Kagami high."

_'…'_ Everybody was looking at me, yet the entire classroom was so quiet you could say it was possible to hear a feather fall. I muster the best half-smile I could, and lightly bowed to the rest of the classroom.

"I'm Ichika Amano. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I hope we can get along." I said as politely as I could. There was a still an ironically unquiet silent between me and the rest of the classroom until a classmate of mine lifted his hand and Katase-sensei gave him the world.

"Isn't '_Ichika'_ a girl's name?" He asks me absentmindedly, but I could feel a small ting of rage come from my head. Oh crap, that again… I know, I know, _Ichika_ is quite a feminine name, even more than is written with the ideograms for both '_One'_ and '_flower'_, but to think someone would point it out from the new student… I smile with both hands in the air in a defensive, surrendering motion.

"Ah, you got me. Turns out, I'm a woman. I just like to dress like a man and deepen my voice." I said nonchalantly. The whole class gasped and started to whisper among themselves, including Katase-sensei who looked horrified about my revelation. I let out a sigh to call for their attention. "It was a joke."

_'Eeeeeh~…'_ The entire classroom said in unison with a sigh of surprise and disbelief, but soon enough started to chuckle among themselves, saying a guy from Tokyo like me 'does have a sense of humor' and 'I was too tall and not slim enough to pass as a girl'. Katase-sensei hit her paperwork on her desk a few times to call for everyone's attention.

"okay, okay. Settle down everyone. You can gossip all you want during lunchtime, but for now, is teacher's time to shine. As for you, Mr. Funny man…" Katase-sensei pointed mischievously at me, making me gasp a little. "I guess you should choose a place to seat if you don't want to hear my lectures on the floor, right? Let's see… I guess you can pick the seat behind Akabane."

"Akabane…" I whisper that name to myself, and really, from the second row next to the window, in the almost back of the class, I could see that same guy from this morning, comically bruised and with a small note saying '_I will not be late again_' signed by Fujitaka glued to his forehead, and behind him, an empty seat. I guess this is my place now. I bowed to Katase-sensei one last time and took my way to the empty seat behind that guy…

Only to stop midway when something caught the border of my eye. As I was passing the first row of students and seats, I saw… Black hair, bespectacled grey eyes and a quiet, calm aura, making me stop on my tracks and cross eyes with her. There she is, that same bespectacled girl from this morning. However, her stare was rather cold, and unlike this morning, she had a serious demeanor. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then she started to talk…

"May I help you, Amano-kun?" She asks, her voice however being quiet and rather emotionless. I was taken back a little, but even so, I gulped down and reached for my case.

"You're… You're that girl from this morning…" I said to her, but there was no reaction, as if she didn't see me this morning either way. Another thing: she was completely dry. I can understand that she had an umbrella and she could just had dried herself from there to school, but… Even her uniform was strangely clean. Better not think too much about it, I should return that book to her. "Look, I know this might sound strange, but I think you dropped th-…"

"Please, don't talk to me so casually. This is a classroom, so cut the idle chat and go to your seat…"

"Wait, what…?" I stopped on my tracks as she said those words in a serious, almost poisonous tone. Wait, what? Did I hear that correctly? She just shunned me like that. I shook my head to her, and tried to reach for her light novel inside my case. "Wait. I mean, I know this might sound intrusive, but I think you dropped a book back when we bumped into each other and…!"

"Didn't you hear me? Back to your seat, Amano-kun. As the class representative, I won't let even your status as a transferred student serve as an excuse for insubordination." And she shuns me yet again, her voice as stoic as before but in a harsher choice of words. Before I notice, the entire class was looking at us and starting to talk among themselves. So she is a class representative, her looks and mannerism are typical, but even so… I decided that it wasn't a good time to talk about it, so I put the book back at the end of my case and resumed my walk towards the back of the classroom, hearing some whispers among my classmates…

'_Man~, class rep is at it again…'_

_'To the transferred student of all people, too. Well, to be expected from the iron lady…'_

_'I heard she got a letter of recommendation already from Principal Odagiri. Talk about a teacher's pet, and we must be the ones to stand her…'_

"Hey, transferred student. It seems you already got a bite from our class rep. Trust me, don't blame her, she's just a very definition of a teacher's pet." And as I sat on my table and started to put my material in place, the guy in front of me, Akabane, supported his back on his seat and looked back at me upside down. I turn to him with a hum, and he smiled at me. "I mean, I heard her family is pretty rich and in touch with a few political figures, so of course she would be a madam time of person, just like those type of anime girls. Trust me, her fame is known even during her first-year."

"I see…" I contemplate back at him from his upside-down face. She does have that air around her coming from nobility, and to think she became a class representative in her first day, I can only imagine. The guy in front of me let out a chuckle.

"By the way, the name's **Renji Akabane**, and I am the guy who solely exists." He let out a smile, while I tilted my head to a side with a question mark. I clash my eyes with his brown ones. "What a misfortune for you to end up in a class with Miss prim and proper, although I'm also in the same situation. What did you want to talk about her, anyway?"

"Uh… It's about something…" I let out a small glimpse of a talk, making a nervous shifting with my shoulders. I guess I'm not gutsy enough to be so open right now. But even so, I let out a sigh. "Well, it's about a book… I think she dropped it…"

"Ah, it makes sense. Miss prim and proper must've lost her rule book while putting that massive log back into her behind." Just hearing about rear ends makes my mind wonder about something, something… Light blue, but I soon shake my head to get rid of those thoughts and turned to him. I mean, it is not a rule book. Far from that, it's a light novel.

"It's not like that. She dropped her l-…"

***TACK! TACK!***

"ouch!"

"Yeow…!"

"Akabane~! Amano-kun~! You can talk whatever you want during lunch, but for now, for every word from your mouths that is not about the lecture is a chalk bullet to your foreheads! They don't call me '_Katase the sniper'_ for nothing!" We turned our attention to Katase-sensei with a red bump on our foreheads, the entire class laughing among themselves as two pieces of chalk fall next to us on the ground. Jeez, right on the forehead. She turned back to the blackboard with a book at hands. "But if you want to share something, how about your book with Amano-kun, Akabane? At least for today, please do that."

"Yes, ma'am." Akabane-kun said back, turning to me and lifting his table in a way that, at least diagonally, we could fuse our table into one, he opens his book for us to share the same amount of knowledge. The bespectacled girl, the class representative, stood up, made us bow to the teacher, and finally class could start.

Maybe I am the one in the wrong, and those girls are different people? I dunno, class rep does have that same royal, quiet and determined aura around her, not to mention her harsher words and serious, almost emotionless tone. Maybe I got two completely different girls by mistake and end up mixing them up. Even so… During the class, I reached for my case and picked the light novel that was buried deep within to take a quick look. Maybe there is a clue of whom it belongs to. Akabane-kun notices my sequence, and turns to me with a beaming smile seeing the cover of the book…

"Oh~, I know this one. I just read the first volume, but it is hilarious. The cover makes it look like a serious light novel, but I almost broke a lung laughing. So, you're into that stuff, huh? Good to know." He says turning to me. I shrug a little, still scanning the book for some clues.

"not really. I mean, I do read a lot, but light novels aren't really my thing." I admit, finally picking a glimpse of something individual in that book: on the back cover, next to the bars, there was a name written on it: **Miyu Ishigami**. I blink a few times, passing my finger across the wet cover to see I wasn't mistaken, but there is no doubt, the name 'Miyu Ishigami' was written there. I turned to Akabane-kun. I mean, that girl was wearing Kagami high's uniform, so she must study here. "Say, Akabane-kun, do you know someone called Miyu Ishigami?"

"Uh, Ichika, that's the name of our class rep." He motions to me and then to her with a wavering finger. I wide my eyes in surprise, yet not at all, so she is the girl I bumped into, or rather she bumped into me, this morning. Yet, her aura is completely different from back them. I wonder why. "Why you ask?"

"This book… Is hers." I declare. He wide his eyes and almost burst in laughs for some reason.

"R-Really? Miss prim and proper princess model… Reads a comedy light novel? Dude, she literally ripped my manga in half for bringing it to school! Don't you think you're mistaken her with anyone else? I mean, she could be just carrying those to set them on fire for later…" He declares, and despite the absurd statement, his tone makes me think he might be telling the truth. But even so, this makes no sense.

"I mean, it does have her name on it. She wouldn't do that if she were to burn them down." I said to him and showing the name on the back, and then nods as if he's agreeing with me, but his stare telling me he was still doubtful. I don't think she would put her name on it just to bring it to herself either. So for now, this is mainly hers.

"I know, but still…!"

***TACK! TACK!***

"Pay attention to class, you two! Next time, it'll be Katase's _shotgun chalk special_ to the forehead!"

"" Y-Yes, Ma'am"" Both of us said in unison to the chalk punishment as Katase-sensei turned back to the blackboard to continue her lecture.

But there is no mistake for now: this book is Ishigami-san's. I should return it to her after classes. Maybe when the dust settles a little, we can talk about it…

* * *

**Morning****→ Lunchtime(Kagami High)**

"Ah! Lunchtime! The best hour of the day!" Sang the classmate in front of me as the bell rang and Katase-sensei ended her lecture with a final note and a heart-shaped drawing on the blackboard. It took us quite a while, but lunchtime finally came. Soon, sensei left the classroom together with class rep, and my classmates started to move their seats one to another to fuse them into one larger table or just eat by themselves while looking on their phones. Me? I put my things back in my case and picked the light novel in my possession. Akabane-kun turned to me. "Huh? Hey dude, what are you doing? Don't want to share lunchtime?"

"Maybe later, Akabane-kun. I think I need to return this book to Ishigami. Now that lecture ended, I think this is the best time to do so so she won't get upset." I declare, and with already a mouthful of curry bread on his mouth, he hummed curiously.

"You really think this light novel, the base of comedy, belongs to miss Prim and Proper? I mean, yeah, everybody has their tastes and stuff, but she doesn't look like the type to read one of those." He says, gulping down his lunch and taking another bite out of it. I nod to him, but even so I stand up and started to walk towards the exit of the classroom.

"Well, maybe she is more than we can see, I guess." I say, ready to look for the class rep and find her in a calmer manner and return that book to her. Before I could reach for the door, however, Akabane-kun stood up from his seat, took the final bites off his sandwich and followed me to the exit. "Uh, Akabane-kun? What are you doing?"

"Maybe you're right about that, Ichika. I mean, she is miss prim and proper, but if what you say is true, then I guess I can get her off my ass. Who knows, I also like those light novels, so maybe I can find a way to make her a bit more chill. Besides, If that's true, I want to see her bushing face when I unravel that secret of hers." He smiles brightly and a mischievous aura takes control over him, making me sweatdrop a little. He doesn't have noble goals, but I would be lying if I say that I don't want to see a pretty girl blushing a little. Besides, if she's really all that bad, maybe that will make her a bit looser. Akabane-kun gives me a pat on the shoulder and gives me a thumb up. "besides, I can give you a tour around the school. I know exactly where she would be, so I can give you some directions."

"Huh, thanks Akabane-kun." I nodded to him. He just smiled.

"Just '_Renji'_ is fine. Geez, for a new student, you look a bit uptight." We share a small chuckle to each other. I guess if he's okay with that, fine, I'll start calling him Renji…

And so we walked away from our classroom and started searching for ishigami-san. It wasn't an easy task despite Renji's directions, as there were two buildings with three stores each, one for the students and other for the physical educations, a small podium for school assembles and other things like theater and music room, not to mention the large number of students around shoving each other aside to get the last yakisoba bread or the special juice from the cafeteria. Despite such, we were finally able to find Ishigami-san exiting the teacher's office.

"Hey, Ishigami-san!" I called for her attention, yet her only response was an aside glance from the corner of her eyes. Not friendly at all. Renji, who has an history with her, could only take backstage of our little chat.

"What is your business with me, Amano-kun?" She spoke in a tone colder than the artic, but even so, I didn't faulter, I picked the book in my possession and showed it to her, but no reaction came from her. She only blinked a few times, and turned her stare from the book to me.

"I… I want to return this novel to you. I'm sorry if it was uncalled for during classes, I understand, but here. I'm here to return this novel to y-…"

"This book is not mine." But instead of a great revelation, a surprised class rep or something else, she cut me down with a harsh tone. Even Renji was taken aback by her suddenness and coldness. "I don't know from where you took such precipitous rumors or nonsenses about me, but I can assure you, this book is not mine, so stop with your foolishness before I call a teacher."

"H-Huh? But… This book… I remember you dropping it this morning." I continued to talk about with her, even turning the back cover that had her name written on it. "This… This is your name, right? I mean, there is no other reason to…!"

"Stop your nonsense, Amano-kun. I shall go, and if you talk to me yet again, I shall report you." She doesn't even let me finish my sentence, she just turns around and walks to the stairs. Before she could do so, however, I reached for her hand to call for her attention. I don't know what came to me, I just did what I did.

"Ishigami-san, please listen to me! I…!" I couldn't even finish my sentence, the abrupt action was enough for me to reach her, and by picking her hand, her sleeve slowly slid all the way to her elbow… Only to reveal that there was nothing under it. Like a ghost, the area below her wrist was completely crystal clear, with a few cracks on it too! "…!"

"You…!" But before I could give it a better look, she slapped my hand away and hid her cracked skin again under her sleeve. I was at the lost of words, but she shot me a venomous look, enough to make me shake to my core and froze into place, and retuned her way to the stairs, running upstairs. "Don't… Don't ever touch me again, Amano-kun. You do that again, and I will make you suffer."

"…" I said nothing, not even reacting to her threat, I could only think about her cracked and clean skin under her sleeve. She said nothing else, only turned around and walked to the upper floor.

"Well, there you have it. I guess it wasn't really hers, eh?" Renji called for me with a friendly pat on the back, trying to console with a thumb up and a wink. However, there was something fishy about her now. I mean, I do want to return her novel, but something about her feels… odd. I dunno why, but her behavior, and the aura around her is not normal. I picked the fallen light novel and started to follow her yet again. For that, Renji interjected. "H-Hey, Ichika, what are you going? You heard her, she's being a bitch even to you, I think its best for us to forget about it, that display of bitchness made me lose all charm about her…"

"I… I want to see something." I said to him, going upstairs to follow her. For some reason, even though he scratched the back of his head and sighed a 'what a drag' between his lips, he also started to follow me through. I still very doubtful about him, but I can see that he's a good person too.

Anyway, we followed the way Ishigami-san took to the upper floors, to the third floor of the second building, and despite such, it was completely deserted, not a single student or teacher around. Moreover, there was a small plaque up in the middle of the way leading to the third floor, saying that access was prohibit. Ishigami-san passed around here, right? I saw a shadow creep from the lights coming from the window, so she must be there as well. I stepped into the forbidden third floor of the second building, and looking by the corner of the corridor, I saw a shadow entering the bathrooms on the far end of it. I saw the glimpse of black hair, it must be Ishigami-san, and moreover, she was entering the boy's bathroom, also with a small board stating that entering was forbidden…

"Oh, so miss Prim and Proper does have a secret~." Sang Renji next to me, also witnessing ishigami-san stepping into the forbidden third floor and going inside the boys bathroom. I gave him a serious look, but could only imagine what she was doing there. I mean, I figured she had a darker side, but to this extend. Renji turned to me and smiled. "hey Ichika, let's see what she is doing and catch her on the act! I bet this will be funny as hell!"

"I don't think this is that serious…" I sweatdropped hearing his idea. I mean, I hope she's not doing anything illegal, but at the same time, the nervousness and curiosity is taking over me, like, I really want to see what the hell she's doing there. I guess dad was right, I did inherited Mom's… I mean, Ranko's sense of curiosity and morbid fascination. Even so… "I think we should talk to a teacher or someth-…"

***CRASH!***

"…?!"

"Huh? What's up, Ichika?"

"I heard… Something. And it came from the bathroom!" I said. I don't know how or when, but I heard the noise of glass breaking, and very loudly too, coming from the bathroom. Oh no, don't tell me something happened to ishigami-san! I stood up from my spying place and started to run towards the bathroom despite Renji's protests.

"H-Hey, what? I didn't hear a th-… Hey, Ichika!" I ran towards the bathroom despite Renji trying to calm me down. I don't know why, but my body just decided to walk towards the place, my heart beating fast in anticipation. Soon enough, Renji also followed me in a hurry. "Tch, what the hell…?!"

"Ishigami-san! Ishigami-san, are you o-…?!" I couldn't even finish my sentence: when I entered the bathroom, in the same place where I saw Ishigami-san's shadow coming into, the absurd scenario unfolding in front of me made me mute out of shock: Ishigami-san, or at least her lower half, was kneeling in front of the mirror, while her upper half was completely engulfed by the mirror in front of her! The mirror was broken where her upper half was suppose to be, but instead of a wall, behind the cracked glass there was a black and white vortex slowly swallowing ishigami-san's body! "Ishigami-san…!"

"Ichika, what the hell you're talking about a nois-… HOLY SHIT, WHAT THE FUC-…!" And coming in second, Renji tried to call for my attention only to be horrified by that same imagr in front of us. I couldn't even act, the mirror was slowly but steadily swallowing Ishigami-san's body! I jumped to her direction and grabbed her by the leg, trying to pull her away, but instead being dragged alongside her body as well!

"Ishigami-san…! Hang on, I'll help…! I'll help you…!" I screamed, but it was no use: whatever force was pulling her was too strong for me, and soon enough her entire lower half was swallowed by the reflective glass as well! However, when I thought I would clash against the mirror, instead my body started to get inside too! I tried to fight and pull Ishigami-san again, but before I knew it, I got inside the mirror!

"ICHIKA…!" But I felt a strong tug on my waist. I turned around and saw Renji trying to pull me away instead! He tried and tried, but despite the fact that he is a bit taller and stronger than me, he also ended up dragged inside the mirror! In one last pull, all of us three ended up engulfed by the reflective glass, and the last thing I saw was a white and black void of nothingness…

And then… Darkness.

…

* * *

**?(?)**

…

…

"… -Hika…!"

"Ichik-…!"

"Ichika…!"

"**ICHIKA**!"

"W-What…?" And when I could tell left from right, I snapped back to reality. It took a while for me to get rid of the blur in my eyes, but soon enough I blinked a few times and found myself in a familiar, yet completely different scenario: I was in the abandoned bathroom from before, but instead of the sunlight coming from the windows, there was only an ominous glowing in an otherwise black sky. I put myself sit from my previous laying position, and noticed that someone was also with me, his eyes a bit worried. "R-Renji…?"

"Oh, thank Goodness you're okay. Holy shit, I thought you were a goner." He sighed in relief, standing up from his kneeling position and offering me a hand for me to get up as well, which I gladly took. "My bad, I couldn't pull you back from… Whatever was happening to that mirror."

"No, I should be the one apologizing. I tried to pull Ishigami-san, but in the end…" I bowed to him, lowering my head apologetically, but he sighed in relief and wave it off. With that out of the way, I took a quick glance around, and really, this place is similar, but more sinister than the bathroom from before. "Now… What is this place? Where are we?"

"No clue. I woke up not long ago, and I couldn't just leave you behind, but from what I can see, this is… The boy's bathroom, I guess…?" He let out a slip of tongue in doubt, and yet I couldn't disagree with him. This is the school… Right? I think its already nighttime, but then I look at my phone, and I noticed it was completely dead. What? Renji looked on his own phone, and it was also out of batteries. "Ah, what the hell? Did we hallucinate all of that? I mean, that thing with Ishigami was freaky, but it must've been a dream or something. It couldn't be real…Right? Right?!"

"I don't know, I'm just as lost as you." I declare, my head lower in thoughts. In one second, however, I saw a shadow crossing the path from the exit of the bathroom, also hearing steps on the floor. Is there someone here as well? Apparently, Renji also heard it as he took his way out of the bathroom.

"Is there someone here too? I think it's the janitor or something." He declares, following the sound of the steps with me following suit. Once we were out of the bathroom, we stepped on the corridor and noticed something quite ominous as well: the light coming from the window of the bathroom wasn't just there, the sky now was pitch black, without a single star or even clouds, only an ominous and enormous moon decorating it, resonating a rather grim aura, as if it was mocking us. "What the hell…? Did we pass out? Its already nighttime!"

However, our attention shifted back to the steps, and turning our attention the other end of the corridor, we could see a few silhouettes wearing the Kagami high uniform, walking to a single direction and without saying a word. So, there are people here at this hour. Renji took his way to their direction with me following suit. Maybe they can tell us what is going on.

"H-Hey, dudes! Sorry to intrude, but I guess me and my buddy passed out! Say, do you know what time it is? Oh, and have you seen a girl wearing glasses with black hair around?" Renji asked, but despite how loud his voice was, the silhouettes didn't react to it. He made an interjection sound, coming closer to them until he touched the shoulder of one of them and made it turn to him. "Hey man, that's cold! I just want to know if…!"

But then moment he turned around, Renji could only gasp and jump back, as when the silhouette turned to him, there was no face in it, but a jade-colored mask where it should be! Not only that, but its entire body was black and misty, like a dense dark fog! The other student-looking silhouettes also turned to us, revealing they were also like it!

"Gyaaah! WHAT THE HELL…!" Renji exclaimed, almost losing his balance and bumping into me, I couldn't react because I was as surprised as him! Those three masked beings, however, by seeing us, started to laugh, and let out ominous chuckles while shaking uncontrollably.

_'Humans…? Humans… Huhuhuh… Humans… Humans…!'_ They whispered in a distorted, disturbing voice. Out of the sudden, they exploded completely in a splash of black goo, turning it completely black and amorphous before taking the shape of a greenish-black slime with a disturbing face morphed on it otherwise melted body. _'HUUUUUMAAAAAANS…!'_

"Holy Shit! Renji, let's get the hell out of here!" Renji called my attention and lightly tapped me on the shoulder while running for his life away from those monstrous slimes, who could only slide themselves towards us, but they were getting speed. I snapped from my scared stupor and followed him suit away from them! What is going on?! Are those really monsters?! What is this place?! Evertyhing and nothing was running in my head as we tried to get distance from those things! "What the hell?! Are those really monsters?! Quick, maybe if we can reach the other floor someone will… GAH!"

And he couldn't even finish his sentence: from the room that was supposed to be empty and forbidden, another mob of dark masked beings emerged from inside, all of them turning to us, laughing maniacally with a demonic tone, and then exploding into black goo before turning into something else besides those smiles, like little plant people or even clay doll-looking monstrocities.

"Damn it! We're surrounded…!" Renji claimed as we came to be back-to-back, really surrounded by monsters by all sides, not a single place for us to run, and from this height, jumping off the window will be fatal! Damn it, what the hell! The monsters started to get closer and closer, all of them laughing like madmen and ready to strike us. In an instant, one of them jumped to our direction, and since it came from Renji's side, he shot himself into his direction! "Gah! Get away from me…!"

"Renji…!" But before something could happen to him, I tackled Renji away from harm's way! The impact was too much for him and he broke a door open to inside a classroom. However, I was the one who ended up being attacked by that slime, who soon started to splatter and spread his gooey body all over me, soon rendering me immobile! He was also too heavy, making me fall onto the ground and defenseless, while more and more monsters started to gang up on me!

"Ichika…!" I turned to the direction where I heard my name using my remaining strengths, and all I could see was Renji crawling to my direction with a hand reaching for me, only to back away once more and more monsters started to cover me! Soon enough, from the mosh pit I was the base off, they all turned into black goo, and started to swallow me! I tried and tried to fight, but the weight and power was too much for me, and soon, I started to lose consciousness… No… Is this… How it… Ends… For me…

…

**[Do not give in…]**

Huh…? I hear… something. Something… Is calling me. From the darkness, I open my eyes, and despite the fact I was almost completely covered in black goo, a single eye peeked away from the darkness, and from it, I saw… A butterfly. A butterfly? And it was… Glowing… Suddenly, the world around me seemed to stop, but the butterfly was still flapping its wings… I reach a hand for it, trying to catch it.

**[Do not give in, for this is the end only for those who succumb to the false divine…]**

What? False divine? I remember hearing those words, but… My hand starts to get pace, and I don't feel the weight of those things around me anymore. No, for some reason, my sole role become to reach the butterfly. I stretch and stretch, and then I could finally reach for it! I open my hand, reach for it a bit more and then… I caught it! And from such hand, a flame started to burn! A cold blue flame, but for some reason it wasn't burning!

**[Yes, yes! Do not let the odds, the fiends, those lowly creatures tell you what to do! For the end is only available when nothing else is! Grab my hand, release my power, and we shall break forth our own path, no matter how much it should cost! And if only death and flames await us, then so be it!]**

Yes… Yes. I understand now. I don't know why, I don't know how, but all those creatures around me don't scare me anymore! I open my stretched hand and looked at my palm, only to notice a glowing, burning butterfly knife there shining in bright silver. The voice… this voice is coming from there!

**[Let us make a path… I AM THOU, THOU ART I… FROM THE SEA OF THY SOUL I COMETH… RELEASE THYSELF FROM THE SHADOWS OF FALSEHOOD… UNLEASH THE BURNING SOUL THAT LIES WITHIN… AND BRING FORTH THE INFERNO IN THIS DIMENSION OF MERE REFLECTIONS!]**

"_Per_…" I muttered, flipping the butterfly knife and aiming at my direction, slowly bending my arm. "… _So_…" little by little, the knife was coming closer where my heart should be, and despite such, I wasn't scared. This is what I want. I aimed at my chest, took a deep breath, and pulling the knife with all my force, I distanced it from it, only to rapidly descend the blade to my target. In the end, the blade came down right on my heart, and then…

***STAB!***

… -_NA_!"

…

…

***VOOOOOOOSH…!***

I stabbed myself on the heart. A swift and quick move right where it should be, and then… silence. And then, from the wound on my heart, a blue and red flame emerged, completely engulfing me in its embrace as all the beings and monsters surrounding me either backed away or were consumed by the flames! Me? Even in the heart of such, I was fine, I was safe, so much I had my strength back to stand up and tall against all the screaming creatures around me! From my wound that vanished in another second, came black flames that covered my whole being! This is… awesome!

'_HYAAAAAAH…!_' I heard the unhuman screams coming from around me, and despite some of them still paralyzed in shock, other of those monsters started to charge at me! But… I'm not afraid anymore! I made a gesture from my hands, and from the flames behind me, came a screeching sound, and then spheres of fire came from it to burn down the assaulting monsters! They burned into nothingness a few seconds later.

"What the…?" I turned around from where those flames come from, and I had another surprise: the flames started to take shape, little by little, it started to take another, more physical form, until I could tell it apart from the rest of the blue flames surrounding us…

A tall, slender but imposing figure covered in flames, wearing a black shirt and pants with pillar-shaped black feet and embraced by a long-tailed, burning pianist coat with golden shoulder pads and equally golden strings running from his golden pads, through his arms, all the way to its sleeves, black hands and long fingers shaped like black violin bows. However, the most prominent thing about that was the burning golden flame it had for a head, not a single feature in the dancing fire but two red slits for eyes and a single line drawn below them in the shape of a sadistic, crimson red smile, a golden halo shaped like a laurel wreath hovering above it… This is… _Me_? Yes, this is **me**!

**[I… AM THE FATHER OF SINNERS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH, THE ONE WHO DELIGHTS HIMSELF IN BEAUTY AND ARTS AS THE WORLD AROUND ME BURNS… NERO!]**

_Nero_, huh?

Okay, Nero! Let's dance!

* * *

**Character Sheet UPDATED!**

***Name: **Ichika Amano(天野一花; Amano Ichika)

**-Age:** 17 y/o

**-Arcana:** The Fool (0)

**-Persona:** Nero; Wild Card.

**-Weapon of choice:** Knives.

**-Bio:** the Protagonist of the story, the son of famous novelist Ranko Kobayashi and late Police Officer Takehiko Amano. After a tragic event regarding his father, Ichika was forced to move from Tokyo to Mizuzuki to live with his stranged mother who, despite being distant, has no ill feelings towards. Despite his usual quiet, morose, almost narcoleptic exterior, this grey-eyed, dark-haired young man has a big heart and a firm sense of justice and selflessness, ready to help others in need, with a good dash for jokes and a bit of mischief. He's a bookworm which Takehiko implies it comes from his mother, and a fan of New Phoenix Feathermen.

* * *

**Compendium UPDATED!**

***Nero (Arcana: The fool):** Ichika's initial persona. Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, or just Nero, was an emperor known for his cruel, tyrannical reign over Rome and being the nephew of the also infamous Caligula. A man of arts and luxury, but also insanity and paranoia, one of his most infamous tales would be him nonchalantly playing the lyre as Rome burned to the ground and his persecution of the christians, which in return would demonize him as the Beast of the Apocalypse himself. A persona of the Fool Arcana, he is especialized in Agi-based skills.

**-Resistant against:** Agi-based Skills.

**-Weakness:** Hama/Kouha-based skills.

* * *

**What are your thoughts?**

**I thought it was a nice chapter, i had fun while doing it, twice as long as before and with an awakening typical of a persona game, but I fear I might have rushed the ending a bit. I hope this chapter was a good one, and I expect good feedback! i'll try my even best next chapter, so I hope you'll be waiting for it as well! Hellhound out!**


	3. Through the Looking-glass world

**Hey there, Persona Fandom! What's up! I figure that last chapter was just a bit too much infodump just for a second chapter, and just like now, this chapter was really fun to write. Even with the lack of reviews, I am very grateful for your interest in this fic and I hope you enjou reading this fic as much as I liked writing it, which is very much. This chapter, Ichika's adventures in the mirror world continues, and... A new ally or foe?**

**DISCLAIMER: Persona and the SMT series belongs to atlus and its respective owners. Have a nice read!**

* * *

**?(?)**

**[I AM THE FATHER OF SINNERS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH, THE ONE WHO DELIGHTS HIMSELF IN BEAUTY AND ARTS AS THE WORLD AROUND ME BURNS: NERO! AND NOW… TIME TO BRING FORTH THE FLAMES OF CHAOS!]**

"Very well, Nero. Let's dance!" I feel a surge of adrenaline that I don't know where it came from, but don't care either, the massive flaming being behind me gives me the strength to stand up and fight! More and more of those shadowy creatures and silhouettes wearing Kagami High's uniform started to gather around us, coming closer and closer, but I fear nothing now! I made a gesture with my hands and Nero followed suit. "**Agi**!"

**[URYAH!]** And with a gesture with his hands, opening his arms like wings, the figure known as Nero threw small fireballs onto the ground where those shadowy figures stood, creating from there bright pillars of red-hot fire that engulfed them, lighten them up and leaving nothing but ashes to the air!

_'Haaaaaaah…!'_ For the remaining monsters that were still around, some were smart enough to cry and bail away, while others, just a few, staid and hurled themselves against us! However, Nero was faster, picking that amorphous blob of dark matter and smashing it between his claw-like fingers in a vicious grip!

"Now, Nero! **Cleave**!" I commanded to the figure behind me, and losing no time, the being behind me chuckled malevolently as his bow-like fingers extended like claws and swung them against our enemies! I could only witness as its fingers cut those around like a hot knife against butter, leaving scratch marks everywhere and splashing black plasma everywhere, which would them turn into dust and them disappear.

In the end, all of our enemies either fled or were destroyed, with me in the middle of a ground zero, surrounded by nothing but a blue aura, dark smoke and dust and scratch marks everywhere. This power… What is this power? I feel like I regained all of my energies, and this being behind me… Nero? Was it? What is he?

"…?!" However, all that adrenaline that took over me for a while suddenly disappeared, and fatigue reached out for me, making me grunt tiredly as I kneeled on the floor trying to catch my breath. I turned around to see Nero, and for some reason it was starting to dissipate in a blue aura, little by little its being fading in small shades of its own body. Despite this, it laughed like a malevolent villain, floating to in front of me and crossing his arms.

**[HAHAHAHAHAH… I AM NERO, THE OTHER YOU WHO EXISTS WITHIN. I SHALL GIVE YOU MY ASSISTANCE, SO REJOICE, FOR FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, THE CRIES OF VICTORY WILL RESSONATE ETERNAL FOR US!]** Nero said with a deep, powerful yet strangely soothing voice, its entire being suddenly disappearing in a spark of blue light, and before I knew it, it turned into a small ball of blue flames, which danced in the air a little before gathering on where my hand was. I turned my attention to my palm, only to find… that same silver butterfly knife I used to… Summon it? I don't know why, but I feel at ease with it, despite the fact I've never wielded a weapon before. It just feels so natural.

"Hey, Ichika! Are you okay?!" Snapping from my stupor, a voice calls for me among the darkness of this place that looks just like our school. I turn around to see Renji standing besides, me, a hand extended for me to assist me or something. "Holy crap, dude. What was that all about?! I mean, crap man! I thought you were done for, but then that thing went all ***VOOOSH!*** and ***FUWAAAH~!*** and shit! What… What was that all about?!"

"Beats me." I said, picking his hand to stand up. I trembled a little since my legs were still a bit jelly, but I could stay firm in place in the end. I turned my attention back to my newly acquired weapon at hand, and right by my shoulder, Renji took a quick glance at it. I gripped it tightly. "But… I am thou, thou art I… I guess this will be very useful here…"

"I see…"

"Ugh…!" And suddenly fatigued hit me yet again, making me hold my head in pain and my legs to grow weak out of nowhere. Before I could fall heads first on the ground, Renji held me and used his arms to support my body.

"Whoa there, buddy! I guess all that adrenaline wore off now, huh?" He sighed, helping me stand up yet again and finally have the strength to hold myself up. I used my sleeve to dry up the sweat off my forehead and turned my stare forward. "We should go back and find a way out of this hellhole. I don't know when or how those freaks will act again, but we should find a way out before the attack again!"

"No… Ishigami-san… I need to help her…" I gasped a little, walking towards the same direction I saw her shadow creeping, even though I still have no condition to move very well yet. I have to save her of whatever is happening right now. If I don't, who knows what will happen from now on. However, I felt a hand pick me by the shoulder and make me turn around to face Renji. For once, he had a serious expression in his face, but at the same I could see him sweating buckets.

"Ichika, my man, don't be stupid. I know you are worried about her for whatever reason, but we need to focus! Getting on like that is a recipe for doom!" He exclaims, but I shook off his hand and turned my attention back to the eerily quiet and dark corridor that was being illuminated only by the creepy golden moon above it all. In the end, I hear a sigh, and soon enough Renji walked right next to me, scratching his cheek with a finger sheepishly. "Okay, fine. I'll go too before you do something stupid. My pride will get a scratch if I let a friend go unsupervised and then what the hell happens next."

"Friend…" I murmured, my voice a bit weak, even so now that I said that word that I haven't heard for quite a while. He called me a 'friend', and for some reason, I don't mind that at all. I flashed him a smile, and he winks and thumbs me up. "Thank you. I owe you one."

"No problem. Just remember that every Friday there is yakisoba bread on the cafeteria!" He friendly slaps my back, and turned his attention forward, mimicking me a little. So now I have at least someone to look onto my back in this strange, bizarre world filled with monsters. I don't want him to get hurt or anything, so better make it quick. Renji snaps his stare elsewhere, and then look outside, being taken back a little. I follow his stare outside. "Whoa, what the hell is that thing?"

"Huh…?" I turn my eyes from where he was looking, and widened my eyes in surprise and shock: by the other side of the school, where the student's building should be, there was a black, pulsating, giant-sized brain lodged to the side of the white walls! I don't know how or why, but that organ was oozing black matter from its veins and had strange-black-colored veins coming from the window and pulsating all the way into it. I felt sick just by looking at it, and Renji also seemed that he was about to puke. "That's… Disgusting."

"You tell me!" He moans in disgust. I can't really blame him, a giant-sized brain attached to the side of our school, pulsating like it was alive and with veins coming from it like black blood? I don't think anyone is ready for that! However, under closer inspection, I noticed something: there were shadows dancing inside the classroom where the black cables were coming from. The light there was dim and dark, but I could see some movements coming from there. Maybe is there where Ishigami-san headed? "but there must be someone there, if my eyes aren't pranking me. You think she went there on her own?"

"Only one way to find out." I said, taking my way to the suspended bridge leading to the student's building. But before he headed there, I found lying around a small mop and a folded chair. I picked the mop and handed the folded chair to Renji. "But before we go, we better arm ourselves. I don't know how I did that thing from before, but If I fail, I better be prepared."

"Oh, quick thinking! Leave it to me, dude!" He says picking the folded chair and adjusting the lock in it a little so it wouldn't open and end up accidentally hurting any of us. I broke one of the ends of that mop to make a weapon out of it, and once we were all set, we took our way to the suspended bridge leading to the student's building.

***BANG! BANG! BANG!***

"Whoa, what the hell!" But before we could even reach to the corner where the bridge was, we heard something akin to gunshots, and out of nowhere one of the classroom doors literally burst open, revealing a small puddle of black goo from before, covered in flames! It tried to stand, but in the end, it succumbed to the fire around it and splattered on the floor, turning to dust and finally disappearing. Renji and I lowered our weapons seeing whatever happened just now, and to make things worse, a new figure appeared from the dust coming from inside the fog from inside the classroom.

"Tch, damned shadows, thinking that can mess with royal me for what's worth. I shall defeat you all!" We heard a hilariously squeaky and high-pitched voice saying such novelistic words, and when the dusted downed, the surprises kept coming as we saw the source of that voice: a small, cartoonish, cute yet sharp-eyed fox with auburn and white fur wearing something I can only describe as a japanese military naval attire of white blazer and pants in the likes for its form, a small golden crown balancing from its head and golden eyes looking at the defeated enemy and it wield a small sword (kodachi) between its teeth! I was speechless, so was Renji, and when the fox noticed our presence, it turned to us and started to talk! "And you two! Are you residents of this cursed **[Castle]** as well! Choose your words wisely, for your fate is decided by those!"

"Dude, the fox is talking! It's a talking fox!" Renji exclaimed exactly what I was thinking, and for that, the eyes of that same animal narrowed as a blue mist started to come from beneath its cute little paws. That presence, I can feel something familiar coming from it, but I shouldn't mind that for that, that little fox seems it was out for blood! "Oh-ow, and it doesn't look friendly at all!"

"So, you refuse to talk, eh? Doesn't matter, for I got my answer right here for your insolence!" The fox declares, his on all-four pose chrouching a little in a battle pose as the blue mist around it started to get denser and denser. No good, it seems that it's not friendly at all! Before something else could happen, I pulled both my improvised weapon and the butterfly knife in order to defend myself. Whatever that does or attacks, I better be prepared!

_'INTRUDERS! HOW DARE YOU SOIL THE PRECIOUS__** [KINGDOM]**__ OF THE HONOR STUDENT MIYU ISHIGAMI! I WILL TELL HER ABOUT YOU!'_ But before we could clash, we heard a distorted voice coming from directly behind the fox! I tilted my head to see behind the talking animal that was also turning around to face the source of that voice, only to see another one of those black monstrous silhouettes wearing a school uniform, only this time using a black armband with the words writing '_student council'_ in it. Wait, did it say something about Ishigami-san? The creature loses no time: in one instant, it exploded itself into a black blob which then started to take form, little by little transforming itself into a bizarre, smiling snowman-like creature of tubby arms and wearing blue boots and horned beanie. Despite the massive black smile on its face, its black eyes were shining anything but friendliness. _'Hee-ho! I'll beat you all to death, hee-ho!'_

"Weakly **[SHADOW] **scum, I have no time to lose here with the likes of you!" The fox said such harsh words despite its cutesy voice, and out of the sudden its attention turned completely to that snowman-like monster. Out of nowhere, a dark blue mist started to ooze from beneath its pawn once again, and out of the sudden, I heard that same noise of glass shattering as the small animal cut the air in front of it with its blade, out from the mist a new form appeared: a massive, golden-colored toy-ship with a black goat in its flag and a small, toy soldier in the front wearing a plastic-like Greek armor. Whoa, so it also has one of those beings with it! "Come forth, **[JASON]**!"

_'Here we go, hee-ho!'_ That… Shadow? said one more time as he charged against the toy-ship, stubby hands clenched in white fists while doing a whirlwind motion like a child! However, the hit didn't even connect when the toy-ship, apparently named Jason, practically lunged itself against the snowman monster and clashed bodies with it! The hit was enough to both clash against a wall! Even with powerful blow, the snowman didn't faulter and instead clapped its hands against the front of the ship. Out of the sudden, the front of Jason started to freeze! _'Hee-ho! How's that, ho! __**Bufu**__!'_

"Gah! Cold!" The fox gasped, seeing his ship… Thing starting to have its lower parts frozen and little by little shattering due to the coldness, which also started to get me! Jason pulled itself away from that Shadow monster and braced against another punch from the snowman, floating away a few inches from where previously stood! The fox gasped, waiting for the hit! "Gh, damned shadow… I'll…!"

"Heads up, talking fox!" That voice besides me almost burst my eardrums, and faster than light, I saw a folded chair flying in high speed to the direction where those two beings were fighting, hitting the snowman right on the face as it becomes dizzy and confused! Nice hit, Renji! The brunette then turns to me! "Hey, Ichika! Try to summon that being thing from before!"

"Right!" I said pulling the butterfly knife forward and pointing its blade to the snowman shadow in front of us! Out of pure instinct, I made a cutting move and then from the tip of the knife, it looked like that I just ripped the air in front of me, from behind the 'dimensional rip' appearing Nero in all its blazing glory, spreading the passage with its long fingers and jumping into action! "Nero! Agi!"

**[ORYAH!]** Nero laughed, reaching his violin bow-like finger to the strings running across its arms and vibrating them with it like a true string instrument! From them, a screeching melody echoed through the corridor, and then balls of fire emerged from them, lunging themselves against the snowman and then exploding in pillars of hot flames! As expected, the attack was too much for that snowman, who started to melt and then turn ashen black until it disappeared…

_'Hee-ho… That sucks… You're no fun, hee-ho…'_ It was its last words before vanishing in dark dust.

Satisfied with the conclusion of those events, Nero gave me an aside glance and a chuckle before vanishing in a small whirlwind of blue mist. The fatigue caught up with me like what happened last time, so I supported myself on a wall to catch my breath. I blinked once, twice to get a hold of myself, and turned down, feeling a presence. The little fox was there, blinking its golden eyes to me.

"You… So, you mustn't be a **Shadow** after all. To possess a **Persona**, and a strong one at that too…" It says in a calm, novelistic tone despite the cute voice while putting its kodachi back to its shelf. Wait, '**Persona'**? This is what they are called or something? Picking the folded chair that fell not very far from here, Renji walked to beside me and turned his attention to the fox on the floor, who blinked to him too.

"Dude, a talking fox, and with one of those things too! Seriously, what day is today, anyway?" He wondered out loud, and apparently his way of talking irritated the small animal, who frowned with a red vein popping on its head.

"I beg your pardon, sir! My name is **Lily**, and I refuse to be acknowledged so rudely!" The small fox demanded. Renji make a grimace, hiding his mouth behind his hand as he whispered on my ear.

"And quite a rude little animal, too. What's with that high-and-mighty attitude, anyway? Does he think he's a King or something?" He said in quite a pouty tone while the fox just arched an eyebrow, the vein still popped on its head. I blinked once, twice, and in order to break the ice I turned my attention to the small animal, Lily apparently, kneeling to face it on the same level. I mean, I think he might be able to help us or something, so better don't play around.

"Forgive about him, Lily-san. But anyway, you seem to be quite knowledge about this place. Could you help us get out of here?" I ask the small fox… General… Thing, and for some reason the frown didn't leave his eyes despite appearing much calmer now.

"Excuse me? How come you have a Persona and yet no idea how to you got here? Such an odd inconsistency in information." The small fox wandered his own golden eyes around like it was deep in thoughts.

"**Persona**? You mean those things we summoned very long ago?" I inquire him as I pulled the small butterfly knife from my pocket which was still emitting a quiet, silvery glow. Lily-san was taken back a little, but soon recomposed himself and coughed a few times. "And you also said something about **Shadows**, like that word in English. Are those connected somehow?"

"Affirmative, young man." He spoke, and I can only sweatdrop hearing someone not only smaller but apparently younger than me call me a young man but nodded to silently show that I was paying attention. "So, you're really not shadows, but inhabitants of the '_Other side'_. I see… Well, to shorten such difficult concept, this might look like a place in your reality, but it is not. Instead, it's a construction made from the concentrated thoughts of several individuals regarding something, anything, taking shape and being controlled by a leading Shadow, a **Demon Lord**, as I like to call them."

"Construction made from the minds of… What?" Renji, who also kneeled besides me to look at the explaining fox enquired, but bit his tongue midway in confusion, much for the fox's dismal, who grunted and put his paws on his little nose in a facepalm.

"Ever heard of that saying: '_tell a lie a million times It'll eventually become a truth'_? It works almost as such. This place is filled with wandering thoughts and rampant feelings from the real world, which gives this place its shape and form. I call it the **Mirror world**." He explains, and I'm starting to get it little by little: this place is not the real Kagami High, but a 'projection' made from the thoughts of others by the other side, which I assume is the real world… Or something. I nodded a few times while Renji had a hand on his chin, deep in thoughts, so Lily-san continued. "Since this is a mere reflection or projection of wandering ideas and thoughts from the heart of humans, however, Shadows have a certain dominance over them. They feed on those cognitions, no matter how false or true they are, and get so strong they even take shape and gather themselves as inhabitants."

"So this is why they are wearing Kagami High's uniform: they are taking the likings of its students because of the masses that constructs this place." I concluded, and Lily-san huffed proudly and satisfied, with a tiny bit of arrogance on the air. I get it now, most of it. I guess reading some of Ranko's research do come in handy on times like these, although not in a way one would expect.

"Exactly, my dear young man. If those are the facts coming from _your side_." The fox snapped at me with a wink. However, his stare suddenly turned serious and he turned his attention to the brain-shaped thing glued to the side of the Student's building, blinking a few times in disgust. "But colors me surprise, that thing. That distortion is seriously so conglomerated and strong that took shape not only physical, but it is spreading across this **Kingdom** and giving more and more power to that Shadow."

"So, you saying that thing is a Shadow? For real?" Renji asked turning his attention to the gigantic brain matter that was held suspended on the wall of the student's building. The fox nodded and turned his attention back to us.

"Indeed. Not just that, but the cognition and shape that leading shadow, a Demon Lord, turned into has a massive amount of power. Whichever or whoever it took shape of must have such a 'image' back in your world it's even gathering strength from nearby Shadows." The fox concluded. Someone or something who has an 'image' back in our world coming from others that it takes shape on itself and gets stronger as such. Suddenly, I felt something pulling my shoulder and weighting a bit on me. I turned around and saw Renji with a hand on his head.

"Ugh, my bad, dude. I don't… Feel so good now…" He murmured. Lily-san turned around, took a quick glance at Renji's paling face and nodded.

"No wonder. Humans were not supposed to be in the Mirror World since they are made from their psyche and to maintain individual thoughts here is mentally exhausting. You better go back to where you are before things get worse." The fox suggested, but Renji shook his head negatively, trying to stand up.

"No, I made a dare. If he wants to save class rep, then I have to help him so he wouldn't get himself killed…" He said, voice filled witb fatigue and panting, but still trying to grin at me with a thumb up. I grit my teeth, he's exhausted, and if this continues, I don't even think I can handle it. In the end, I picked him up, made his arm half-hug me and used myself as support for him. Renji gave an exclamation. "H-Hey…"

"If we keep this up, then both of us won't have energy to even stand. Better go back somehow to the real world and gather some more energy." I said with a thumbs up and a smile, and even so, he clenched his teeth and let out a sigh in defeat. Yeah, I cant risk it even when ishigami-san is apparently lost somewhere around here. First things first, I have to help him for now.

"I'm sorry, dude. I'm really sorry…"

"Don't be. We should go back for now. We can explore it tomorrow…" I said with a smile, and he also smiled with a nod. I turned back to Lily-san. "Lily-san, do you know how to go back to our world?"

"I have an idea, but this is only a theory of a sorts." The fox spoke, jumping from the ground to take the lead. "From where did you say you came from, exactly? Better go back there to see for myself, and better make sure it's the exact place."

"It was… In the boy's bathroom in the sports building around the end of the corridor." I answered, and as such, the fox started to skip all the way to the end of the corridor, to the boy's bathroom, but not before turning his eyes to me and tilting his head forward, as it was an invitation for me to follow him. Renji and I, supporting we with each other, walked towards the bathroom. Once there, we saw Lily-san in front of the mirror, taking his paw a few times on the reflected surface. And then he pulled his two paws up and smashed them on the mirror, breaking it in a few shards, and by the hole it created, it wasn't a wall, but a passage to light.

"I see. I understand now: Some shadow must have created this portal as a mean to walk between the Mirror and your world. Considering how strong one shadow must be in order to do such, I can only assume it's the Demon Lord's fault at that." Lily-san spoke to himself, scratching the broken glass around the hole in order to spread it more until it was enough for one person at the time to crawl inside. "There, it must be enough for you two to go back to your world. You must hurry before the path closes itself. This World and your world are supposed to be separated, after all."

"Lily-san… Thanks." I sincerely said to the fox with a bow, and he could only let out a prideful smirk and sigh. However, soon his stare turned a bit grim.

"No need to thank me, young man." He said in a serious tone. "But keep that in mind: there is something or someone by the other side who caught the attention of the Demon Lord Shadow and is trying to usurp their image for whatever reason. Be careful…"

I gulped with a cold sweat, but even so I nodded back at him with confidence, while Renji nodded back with a smile. With that said and done, Lily-san jumped away from the sink into the shadows of the Mirror World, and I could only pray for him to stay safe, as I helped Renji to get on the sink and crawl on the small portal where the light was coming…

…

* * *

**Lunchtime→ After school (Kagami High)**

"Ugh…" And when the light by the end of the tunnel finally gave space, I blinked my eyes to get used to the sudden brightness, and before I knew it, I was back… To the boy's bathroom. I looked to the sky, and despite the current cloudy sky and the shy Sun hiding behind the grey tone, I can say without a doubt: we're back in our world.

"Ow… My head…" I hear a voice right beside me, and as expected, Renji was also here, supporting himself on the sink and blinking a few times. He turned to me, to the window reflecting the grey sky, and sighed in relief, letting himself fall a little on his back, pulling his head back. "Oh my God, we're back… I can't believe we're back…"

"You tell me." I said. I feel a distinct lack of something on my pocket so I shoved my hand there only to come to the conclusion that it was gone, that butterfly knife I gained back in the Mirror World was gone. Renji noticed my sudden worry. "it's… Gone. That knife from the mirror world… It's gone."

"Wow, seriously? Are you sure it didn't fall or anything?" He said, looking around on the floor to scan around alongside me looking for anything that resembled it. In the end, we couldn't find it, but I hear a ring inside my head, and for a second, that butterfly knife with the reflection of Nero flashed before my eyes. I winced a little, but then realized what it meant.

"No… I think… I can only use it back in the mirror world." I concluded, and Renji let out a gasp f surprise. I took one, two seconds, and turned to him. "I mean, it makes sense. If that… Persona thing is also a fruit of cognition and reflection, it's only natural for it to remain back in the Mirror world… I think."

"Uh~, all this mind this, thinking that is making my head spin…" Whined Renji, and despite that I couldn't help but to chuckle a little with the sudden turn of the mood. I hear a ring on my pocket once again, and pulled from it my cellphone which was until now dead. I turned to it and saw that, unlike before, the battery was far from dead. I turned to Renji who also got his phone at hand and we exchanged glares. "No way… My phone is back. Is this also because of that reflection thingy?"

"Most likely." I concluded, putting my phone back on my pocket and turning my attention to my own reflection on the mirror. So, there is something about that 'other side', and for some reason, Ishigami-san got sucked into it. I touched a finger into it, and the surface of it rippled like a disturbed pool of water. This is not a dream, right? This is really happening…

"Hey, hey, why the long face, dude?" I snap back to reality as I feel small slaps on my shoulder, making me turn around and face the smiling face of Renji Akabane. He gives me a thumbs up and a wink, and then pointed a finger at the mirror in front of us. "C'mon, don't be so sour. We already know where class rep went, right? So all we gotta do now is fish her out of there! I'm sure with that Persona power of yours, it'll be a piece of cake… if that damn fox doesn't stand in the way, anyway…"

"…" I staid quiet for a while, but I couldn't for much long facing his bright face. Is this what the call infectious smile? He punched my shoulder lightly, and now showed me a smile that glow confidence. I mimicked him. "Yeah. You're right. Let's do this…"

"Yeah, even if class rep can be a pain in the ass sometimes, for what we could see, no one deserves to get inside that Mirror World …" He starts to chuckle, but then he blinks a few times with a serious and surprised expression. We turned to each other, and then he gritted his teeth. "Wait… That damn fox said that a very strong Shadow is trying to usurp someone's image in this world… You think… That Shadow took over Class rep's body or something…"

"…" I gritted my teeth. He's right, Lily-san did say only a strong shadow, a Demon Lord, can break the boundaries between our worlds and come to this side. Not only that, but someone of incredible distorted view from others is what makes a shadow strong when it consumes it… And class rep seems to have quite an impression around. It makes sense, it makes so much sense. "You're right… You're totally right… But then, where is the real class rep? And why would it go back to the Mirror World? Ugh…"

"Hey, man. You okay?" I said when a headache started to attack me yet again. Damn it, I'm exhausted for some reason, and I can barely stand up. I guess lily-san was right, that world is very tiring, in both mind and body. "We gotta alert somebody about that shit! Class rep is a shadow, so she might…!"

"No, we can't." I said back. He gasped in surprise and turned to me. "In the worst hypothesis, you saw what those shadows are capable of doing… If that same thing were to happen in this world, and like I can use that Persona thing here, imagine the chaos it would cause… We better… Leave it be for now."

"Kh… You're right… Damn it." He grit his teeth, but then helped me get up and we locked arms in a handshake. "Okay then, we leave that shadow alone, and then we go back tomorrow to see if we can do anything about it by the Mirror World."

"That's the plan." I murmured, gaining a new surge of power. I smirked at him, and he smirked back. Okay, so that's our plan for tomorrow. Let's venture into that world again and see what we can do about Miss rep. "Let's do this!"

"Let's go!"

***TING!***

…?

**[I AM THOU, THOU ART I… THOU HAST ACQUIRED A NEW LINK OF TRUST…]**

**[IT SHALL GUIDE THEE ACROSS THE FAKE WORLD OF ILLUSIONS…]**

**[WITH THE BIRTH OF THE ****_MAGICIAN_**** ARCANA, THOU SHALT BE BLESSED WITH A NEW POWER.]**

"Ichika? You okay buddy?" I hear Renji call for me, and I snap back to turn myself to him. I hear a voice call for me from the depth of my soul, but it soon vanishes from my memory, leaving only a small lingering feeling from the back of my head. I sigh.

"No, it was nothing, don't worry about it." I said.

"Well, if you say so…" He shrugged, taking his way out of the bathroom with me following suit. As we descended the stairs to the ground floor, I turned to my phone to notice how late it was. Classes just ended, so the only thing I can do is go back home and try to get rid of that headache of my that suddenly appeared. Renji noticed that and pulled his phone as well. "Oh, right! We should change contacts! Message ID as well! I mean, talking out loud like that might make people think we're crazy, so we better keep it to ourselves."

"Good idea." I said as we changed contacts with each other. To think I would get a new contact so soon and under such bizarre circumstances. Soon enough, a new panel appeared on my phone under the name 'RenRen', and for that, he gave a thumb up.

"Nice. Well, see ya tomorrow, Ichika! And don't worry, I won't be a bother to you again!" He says again with conviction, and once we reached the outer gates of Kagami high, we parted ways to different directions. Before I could go, however, I felt a presence coming from the school, so I turned my eyes there and saw… A shadow lurking from one of the windows, specifically the window leading to the abandoned third floor of the sports building. This gotta be the shadow that is doing something with ishigami-san… Even so, I should rest for now. But I have to save ishigami-san… With this power, this is all I can do for now…

* * *

**After School→ Evening (Kobayashi Residence)**

"I'm home!" I called from the front door as I discarded my shoes on the entrance and walked inside my new house. I got no answer, so I carefully scanned around by the change that Ranko might be at home again, only asleep. I peeked to the living room, and everything was tidy and perfect, not a single thing out of place although the sink was filled with tv-diners. On the kitchen, on the other hand, there was a small plate of food with a small note by the side. I scanned around one more time. "Hello? Ranko, are you home? I'm back."

Nothing, totally nothing. I turned to that plate of omelet and meat and picked the note that laid next to it, unfolding it so I could see a small message Ranko left for me: Apparently, she had to meet one of her editors about her new book and since her deadline was drawing near, she opted to stay at a local café with her so they could brainstorm some ideas for her new story and chapters. I guess even writers have it tough sometimes…

Whatever. I eat my dinner, take a shower, put on my pajamas and lay on my bed for a good night of sleep. Today was so bizarre, so strange, to think everything would happen just like that in my first day of school… I lifted my head to face the covered mirror by the side of my room, and sighed, putting my head back on the pillow. I should rest, tomorrow, me and Renji will get deeper into this whole ordeal about the Mirror world…

No matter what.

My eyes started to get heavy, and blankness is taking over my consciousness. The adrenaline rush I had this earlier soon vanished, and I feel myself getting tired and tired, as sleepiness takes over, until I finally fall asleep…

…

* * *

_"Welcome."_

_"...!" I Blink once, twice and, before I knew it, I found myself in a strange, yet familiar place. I can hear the soft melody of a piano, accompanied by the aria which ressonates with my entire being, and then here I am, sitting on a golden chair in a room tinted in velvet blue, in front of me a creepy-looking, balding long-nosed man with a massive grin and bloodshot eyes sitting straight on his own golden chair as his fingers were interlocked in front of his face, and besides him, a blond, fair maiden wearing also blue. I gulp hard by my sudden summoning. "This is..."_

_"Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world.I have summoned you within your dreams." Igor's high-pitched yet calm voice echoed through the mirror room as he lifted a hand to gently reassure my current position, and with nothing to do, I closed my mouth to let him speak. "So, we meet again."_

_"So, Ichika, you were definitely able to hear the call of your heart, and come forth its power in a time of need. That was so awesome~! I knew you would be able to do it!" The young woman besides Igor, Agatha if I remember correctly, cheerfully said those words while clapping her hands to me, making me blush quite a bit. Unlike its quiet master, the young lady clad in blue seemed extactic in hearing about my accomplishment, so much I didn't bother to ask how did they know it happened at all. "He got the potential, doesn't he, master? I knew it!"_

_"Indeed he has." Igor said, unaffected by the cheerfulness of his 'assistant' as he hovered his hand above the table in front of us, and from it a blue card appeared, a card with the __**number Zero**__ on it with the image of a wandering fool in it. "Your awakened power seems to be Nero, how fascinating. He is a power which is known as a __**Persona**__."_

_"Per... So... Na...?" I murmured. Igor nodded._

_"Yes, my dear Young man." Igor reponded with his ever-presented grin. He reached for the said card on his table and picked it with his white gloved hands, turning it around to show to me it's mirror back. however, when the mirror surface hit me, it didn't show the image of Ichika amano, but the burning, grinning existence of Nero. "This is your alterego, the other you. A Persona is the personality that you present to the world outside yourself. You can say that it is a mask that you use in order to comfront with life's hardships."_

_"basically, its an alterego you use in your day-by-day to deal with whatever thing life throws at you! Like a shield to your heart." Agatha complemented with a smile and a chuckle. igor, unaffected, proceeded._

_"However, it seems that those facets are not exclusively crafted by the hearts they inhabited, but also by those we live with. Their own views, opinions, thoughts and masks they project on others, which are nothing but a reflection of what they think and see from the outside, but if care is not taken, it threatens to completely overrule the current personality, and destroy what truly lies within, leaving nothing but a hollowed form." Igor continued, putting the card down on his table, and I could only gulp hearing that. Like Lily-san said, those shadows use the strong thoughts of the human world to take shape, and the stronger those thoughts and congnitions are, the stronger the shadow which possesses them are. The long-nosed gentleman apparently notices my worry, and waves a hand to me in order to ease my feelings. "But fear not, my dear young man. For you have an unique power, and a strong sense of self to succumb to such. However weak now, the power you possesses is that of the __**Wild Card**__. Compare to others, it is very special."_

_"Wild... Card?" I murmured, a bit confused. Does that mean... I have something more than just Nero?_

_"You can say this ability is like the number Zero: Empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself." Igor's grin seemed to widen even more than ever before as he explained it such to me. "And just like other Personas, its strength is provided by the heart and the bonds it forms. __**Confidants**__, if you may. By strengthen those bonds, your personas and its abilities are destined to grow stronger and stronger. And in order to hone such potential, we shall provide the necessary assistance in your journey..."_

_"That's right, Ichika! So you can count on us for that power to grow and help you even more in that quest of yours!" Agatha chimmed with a smile, picking from a massive book a card with the __**number I**__ written on it and the image of a magician in the center and putting it next to the Number 0 card on her master's table._

_"I will be delight to traveling the road of your destiny together." igor chuckle, and despite his appearance, I could only sense kindness and confidence emanating from him. Before I could say anything, a small key emerged from above and fell onto my lap. I took a quick glance at it, a small velvet key. "Hold on to this. With this key, from this night forward, you are our guest in the Velvet room."_

_"..." I said nothing, only nodded, putting the key on the pocket of my pajama despite not knowing how a key he gives in my dream with go with me back the world of the awakened. Suddenly, I hear the ring of something, and with one last chuckle, Igor and Agatha started to vanish from my eyes, as my eyelids start to get heavier and heavier._

_'It seems our time is up. Now, return to your slumber in the world you call your own, and rest assure, knowing that we'll always be there to offer our assistance." Those were the last words I heard from Igor together with a giggle from Agatha, before complete darkness took over. "Until we meet again..."_

_And then, I fell asleep once again..._

* * *

**Character Sheet UPDATED!**

***Name: **Lily(リリー; Rirī)

**-Age:** Unknown

**-Arcana:** The chariot (VII)

**-Persona:** Jason.

**-Weapon of choice:** Kodachi.

**-Bio:** A mysterious fox-like being Ichika and Renji encountered during their first quest into the mirror world. Despite its appearance of a cute aumburn fox with naval japanese uniform and wearing a crown on its head, it speaks in an elderly way and treats them as children despite its miniscule size. However, it is quite a nimble fellow capable of disposing shadows with relative ease. He seems to be quite knowledged about the mirror world and its inhabitants such as Shadows and Personas, but... Who on Earth is Lily, exactly?

* * *

**Compendium UPDATED!**

***Jason(Arcana: The Chariot):** lily's Persona. One of the most famous Greek Heroes, the rightful King of Iolcos and the leader of the Argonauts, a group of assemble heroes which embarked in several adventures on their famous Ship, the Argo, one of the most famous being the retrieval of the Golden Fleece. Charismatic and intelligence, while also blessed by Athena, jason stands out for being completely human and suffering a tragic fate due to his impulsiveness and misfortune. A Persona of the Chariot Arcana, Jason takes the shape of a massive golden Toy ship which boasts incredible strength and speed, being quite resistent yet nimble in combat while also having massive firepower and standard healing skills.

**-Resistant against:** Garu-based Skills.

**-Weakness:** Mudo/eiha-based skills.

* * *

**What are your thoughts?**

**i tried to imcoporatr as much as elements in the original game into the story and I tried to look as less cringey or shoehorned as possible. After all, what's the point of an OC story if you don't feel that's a fanfic with an extra touch from the author's love? I hope it was a nice chapter for you all despite the infodump of a sorts, but typical persona thing, right?**

**Thanks for reading until this point, don't forget to R&R and have a nice day!**


	4. Royal Flush comeback!

**And we're back on schedule, Persona Fandom! Sorry for keeping you wairting, but I'm trying my best with this fic, and as a apologies, I wrote the longest chapter in this fic so far. I tried to incorporate as many references and mechanics of the game as possible, but since this is a written story, I have my doubts about my success regarding such. Please, feel free to leave your review regarding the text and plot of this story, and thanks for reading the story so far. Don'ty forget to R&R and have a nice day!**

**DISCLAIMER: Persona and the SMT series belongs to atlus, SEGA, and its respective owners.**

* * *

**4/11(20XX) – Tuesday (Cloudy) – Early Morning(Kobayashi residence)**

I snap myself from my slumber with the alarm clock of my cellphone, putting myself sit on my bed as I tiredly sighed and put a hand on my head to get rid of the early sleepiness and think about what happened yesterday and in my dreams. I tried to shake them off as just delusions, just fabrications of my teenage mind going wild in such age, but then I feel something in the pocket of my pajamas, and picking it from there, I saw… I velvet key… I gulp hard this time. So it wasn't just a dream, nothing that happened yesterday was a dream: the velvet room, the ghost class rep, the mirror world and the talking fox, they were all real…

***PI! PI! PI!***

"Huh…?" I couldn't delve much further into my own thoughts since my phone started to ring once again, not because of any alarm, but because I just got a message on my Chatroom, so early in the morning too. I swipe the screen on, only to notice a new message from a new contact I made not long ago. "Renji…?"

* * *

Yo! You up? **– RENREN**

* * *

It read, it seems that either he does wake up to early or something is up once again. I started to type a response, and soon enough, our chat through the messages began.

* * *

Yo! You up? **– RENREN**

**1KA – **Yes. You got up pretty early today. Is something up?

My head was full of stuff yesterday. Couldn't sleep for shit! ~. **– RENREN**

Hey, it wasn't a dream, was it? **– RENREN**

**1KA –** No, it wasn't.

F*ck **– RENREN**

But anyway. We should go to investigate what is going on back at Kagami **– RENREN**

**1KA** –?

If anyone, like our classmates or the teachers, caught us, it would be a problem. **– RENREN**

Besides, I'm awake anyway. Better take the best op by now. **– RENREN**

**1KA –** Good Point.

Neat. Let's up at the backdoor next to the Sports building. **– RENREN**

There are no students there and no one will see us coming. I'll meet you there. **-RENREN**

**1KA –** Ok.

* * *

And then I turned my phone off, yawning a little to get rid of my sleepiness and sharpening my senses for what is yet to come. He's right, if we wanna get what is going on with Ishigami-san and what is happening with that mirror back in Kagami High, we must be cautious about our actions and don't draw attention from either the school or the shadow that is taking Ishigami-san's appearance. If that thing goes berserk, seeing what they can do in the Mirror World, I fear for the safety of everyone…

Which reminds me, back when I tried to call for Ishigami-san's attention, the moment I reached a hand for her, I saw from beneath the sleeves of her winter uniform marks that resembled… Cracked glass? Like her entire being was breaking down like a glass statue. I wonder… Didn't that news report say those were signs of the Crackdown Syndrome? Besides, the victims would always present signs of rigor mortis even before the accidents that would take away their lives, and they would always find out after someone has died in a horrific accident… Are those things… Connected somehow? Does that mean Ishigami-san is gonna…

I shake my head in order to get such morbid thoughts out of my mind. No, no, this is wrong, I don't know what is happening, but I refuse to believe someone will die this time. I need to get my head in place or else my heart will faulter, and I won't be able to get past this point. I sharpen my eyes, gulp my last bit of regret and walked towards the light, ready to face whatever shadows or unknowns might pose next…

I walked downstairs, picked my bags and saw on the table next to a small lunchbox a note from Ranko. Apparently, she her way to apologize to me for missing dinner yesterday is to make a small omelet with sausage and rice for me. I looked around the kitchen and saw several empty cans of coffee and energy drinks, plus a few notes spread across the floor and a napping Ranko spread across the sofa, lazily pushing some Z's. I guess… She's also doing her best, more than me, even. I sigh, cover her with a nearby blanket and picked my lunchbox, ready to go to school, or rather, the backdoor of it by the sports building…

* * *

**Early Morning→ Morning(Kagami High)**

"Yo! Took you long enough, Ichika!" I was greeted by the tall brunette, Renji Akabane, with a hand up high as we meet in the marked place, an old rundown door on the wall by the back of the sports building in kagami High. Despite his cheerful disposition, I could see that he had heavy bags under his eyes and even his voice was a bit shaky. Whoa, he wasn't kidding, he really lacks sleep.

"H-Hey, Renji. You weren't kidding about not sleeping… Are, are you okay?" I said with a small hand wave at him to return the greeting.

"I was thinking so much about that Mirror World stuff I couldn't even blink at night! I mean, doesn't thing like this makes your mind goes clusterf? I did tons of research yesterday too, and apparently this Mirror World thingy is also an Alice in the Wonderland stuff! Like, this stuff was already written a long time ago! Ain't that crazy?" He says in a rapid-fire way, picking from his backpack a can of Mad Bull and chugging it down like a pro. I appreciate this enthusiasm of his, but I think he might have a heart attack if this goes on. "Also, I was sure that it wasn't a dream since I didn't even blink yesterday! Also, I brought some goodies from a store next to my house so that we can deal with those Shadow freaks back in that world!"

"Goodies…?" I murmured back in awe and curiosity, and without losing a second Renji shoved his hand into his backpack again and from it he pulled… A revolver and a pistol! Not just that, but also some bullets and a few cartridges! I jump back a few inches out of fear and scare! What kind of neighborhood does he live in to have a store of that kind next to his house?! "Holy…! Renji, I know it's dangerous there, but I don't think carrying those things is a great idea, specially in school!"

"Huh? Oh wait, it's nothing like this!" He stands up and hands me the revolver, but I lift both my hands in a surrendering position to say I wasn't good with those! What the… Does he think I'm used to those things just because I'm from Tokyo?! He blinks a few times, and then reloads his pistol with a cartridge, making me shiver. "Relax! Those are airsoft guns! Unless you aim at the eye, there is no need to worry! But as you showed me, they are a good thing for intimidation! Besides, just like you, maybe if I aim and shot myself on the head, I can make a persona come out! Heheheh, just kidding…"

"Airsoft…?" A bit less shaken, but still a bit scared, I reached for the revolver he offered me, took a quick glance and weight it a little bit, and yes, it wasn't as heavy as it should be, and I could feel some plastic parts here and there and the bullets were actually BB containers. You can't blame me for that, they do look realistic a tad too much, but I know from where he's coming from. I rolled the barrel a bit and close it. "Thank Goodness. Jeez, you could at least have said it before almost giving me a heart attack…"

"My bad, my bad." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, and I wondered apologetically if I was too harsh on that. He put a few more bullets into one of his cartridges and put it back on his backpack, picking also the airsoft revolver to put it back and back it up. "Well then, we should get going! The early we deal with that stuff and see what happened to Miss Prim and proper, the sooner we'll find out what the hell is going on and uncover the mystery! So let's go, no holding back now! Let's bust loose some shadow ass and deal what the hell is going on here!"

"O-Okay… But lease, don't overdo yourself…" I said it with a sweatdrop as his droppy eyes were shining brightly but he was as trembling as jelly, probably the lack of sleep catching up with his body. But he's right, we found out something terrifying and if don't do something about it, I doubt anything good will happen to Ishigami-san. He nods at my words, and without any warning he kicks the backdoor open, almost bursting it off its hinges with the impact. What did I say about not overdoing it!

Regardless, he was right about this place: even when the janitors starts to open the front gates and the teachers walk all across the students building, nobody is paying any attention to this direction, to the direction of the sports building. I follow Renji all across the shadows of the second Building, walking all the way to the most deserted side until we found a rusted door that was the farthest from the actual entrance. Renji pushed the rusted handle and with a creaking sound, it opened…

"Truth to be told, I used to come here to slack off when the school was still using the nearby field for P.E., but then they started the renovations around here, so I had to drop it… Never thought I would be using it for that purpose, though." Renji turns to me with a grin, and I gave him a thumb up. Delinquent? Troublemaker? No, he does seem like the slacker type, but I would be lying if I say I wasn't impressed. He peeked a small glimpse outside, and soon hid back outside. "Ah, I knew it. Even being this early, there are still some teachers around. Let's move quickly."

"Got it." I nodded, and peeking inside one more time, he gave me a thumb up to sign it was clear, and so we followed to the upper floors, always taking a quick glance from the corners so we wouldn't be seen. This feels wrong, this feels very wrong, but at the same time, it feels kinda exciting! We finally reached the final, prohibited and last third floor, passing through the stop sign and the chains forbidding our entrance and soon stepping inside, going to the bathroom by the end of the corridor.

"Say, do you think that damned fox will be there?" Midway our way, Renji called for me and asked, my only response being a shrug. "I mean, things were pretty packed yesterday, and he talks much more like an old man. You don't think he got himself into trouble with those shadow bastards, do you?"

"…" I remained silent to his question. Lily-san is small and fragile-looking, but from what he says, I can only assume he has been living or battling inside that mirror world for a while longer than us, so he at least got experience. I nod. "Lily-san seems to be quite nimble and knowledgeable about that place. If we could survive there in one day, he must've something prepared…"

"Yeah, makes you wonder what the hell that thing is." He observed, hands on the chin and closing his eyes to concentrate for a second or two. Huh, that actually makes me wonder as well what Lily-san is. However, our little meditation moment was cut short as he gasps and looks forward with a surprised expression. I turned to the direction his eyes were pointing, and the only thing I could see was the image of Ishigami-san, like always, with her black long hair at the wind, wearing the uniform of blue blazer, white shirt and magenta skirt, turning to us with the same amount of surprise. However, instead of the usual green eyes, I was taken back…

… Before she could hide them, I saw a glimpse of sick golden, glowing eyes.

"…!"

"Ishigami-sa-…?" And I couldn't even sign to grasp her attention, she frowned with a dangerous aura and turned around to flee from our vision, mad dashing to the boy's bathroom and escaping our line of sight!

"Crap, there she goes! Well, she's not getting away this time!" Renji exclaimed, also giving chase to the… Thing that has been taking the shape od Ishigami-san. I hesitated a bit, but soon followed suit, cracking my knuckles a few times and dashing like a madman to the abandoned boy's bathroom. Suddenly, we hear steps getting also closer to the stairs, and giving a instinctual look back, we saw Fujitaka-sensei going upstairs with his wooden sword at hand!

"Hey! Who the hell is up there?! Come downstairs and give a very good explanation why you are there!" He screamed, now also madly running to the floor above while Renji and I started to cold-sweat.

"Shit, is that damned Fujitaka! Quick, we need to reach the bathroom before he gets us!" Renji exclaimed, I nodded back and we took our way to the portal leading to the Mirror World. Having no response on his end, Fujitaka-sensei gave chase, upping the stairs as fast as his sturdy, large body could and swinging his wooden sword to all sides.

"You maggots! I gave you a chance! Now, feel the wrath of my Kyouka and go back to the dirt and shit you belong!" He screams, but fortunately me and Renji were already too far away for him to even try to catch us! Before we could get to the third floor, we already reached the bathroom, facing the abandoned and dirty yet not lonesome water rooms. Renji tapped my shoulder and pointed at the mirror on the counter sinks which were facing the toilets.

"Hey, you know how to go there… Right?" He asks me, a small drop of sweat running his forehead as he looked behind around the corner of the bathroom and made a throat-cutting gesture. I guess it means that Fujitaka-sensei is getting closer.

"I guess…" I murmured back. I turned to the mirror, pointed a finger forward and lightly touched the surface of it. Like it happened the last time, a ripple-like effect happened on its surface, from where I first touched it all the way to the borders of it, but when I tried to force my finger in, nothing happened! I poked and poked, but all that it did was ripple away, no way it was sucking me in like last time! "Oh no… Oh no… I think… It's not working like before! Oh crap…!"

"H-Hey, no hurry now, Ichika… I mean, a bit of hurry, dude!" Renji exclaimed as I could also hear the snapping of Fujitaka-sensei's sword against the hard floor, and his cursed getting louder and louder as his steps! He's getting closer, but this… Portal just wont budge! The Brunette next to me makes a face that mixes urgency and horror. "Oh god, oh God! Not the Kyouka! Not the Kyouka~…!"

"C'mon, c'mon…!" I mumbled, still trying to shove my finger inside the mirror! What did Lily-san do last time too… Ah, screw it! I pulled the sleeve of my blazer uniform and without a second thought elbowed the mirror square in the middle of it! The impact made quite the sound, and as expected it created a huge crack in it! Even Renji stopped for a moment in utter shock, but then, as the reflective shards started to fall, I saw by the other side the same eerie scenario from the mirror world! "I did it! Renji…!"

"I'm coming!" He screamed back, going from the door to the bathroom up to the sinks where I was already climbing and jumping inside the Mirror World, a strange feeling, like going inside water, resonating inside me as I crossed the barrier between the two worlds, Renji following suit! In the end, we finally crossed to the other side, and like before, the mirror behind us started to reform until it was completely unharmed, as if it wasn't ever broken…

Once inside, I looked around: Yes, the eerie aura surrounding everything, the dark corners, moans and groans from nearby shadows, and the sickly pale moon on the sky showering everything in a golden light, the only source of light besides it being the faint blue light coming from a pocket of mine, which I picked to see a glowing butterfly switch knife. Yes, there is no mistaken it…

We're back in the mirror world…

* * *

**Mirror World – Kagami High(?)**

"Well, I guess we're back in this place…" Renji says, cracking his neck a few times and dusting his pants a few times. I look around one more time, take a glimpse at the mirror of the bathroom, then to the light coming from the windows, and concluded that he was right.

"It seems so." I murmur, spinning my switch blade a few times before shoving it back in my pocket. Now we know, ishigami-san, or whatever thing took her shape, is from this world as expected. I put my bag down next to the counter where the sinks are and Renji does the same, picking from inside his backpack the guns, bullets and cartridges and handing the revolver to me.

"Well, we better get going. The sooner, the better. Let's beat some shadow ass!" He exclaims excitedly, and despite my previous hesitation, it seems that his enthusiasm is contagious. I picked the revolver and some bullets he was handing me, and strap it to my belt while putting some bullets on the pocket of my jacket. I doubt they will be useful in the long run, but maybe we can avoid some battles with them.

"Right!" I nodded back. We fist-bumped at each other, and he took the lead out of the bathroom, giving me a thumb up.

"Alright, let's do this! I let's save the princess in this damn castle and see what the hell is happening around her-…!"

"Cease your foul actions and face death, shadow…!"

"_GYAAAAAAAAAAH_~…!"

"_GAOOOOOOH_…!"

***BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click! Click! Click…!***

"What tomfoolery is happening right now?!" And we didn't even take a step forward, a shadowy figure jumped at us and stood in our way! Renji, who was acting so cool just now, suddenly freaked out and, without any warning, picked his airsoft pistol and fired and entire round against the enemy! Only… It wasn't really an enemy. When the area cleaned after that round of shots and the sudden scare calmed down, we could see that the shadowy figure was actually Lily-san! He looks back at us, and blinks, perplexed. "Oh, so the brats have returned! To think you would show yourselves after the nightmarish experience from the day before… Although your action from now have cemented your lack of courage in the face of the Mirror world."

"S-Screw you, you damn talking fox! Anybody would freak out if something would jump like that like you did!" Renji rebutted, shaking his pistol in the air in protest as the fox would frown at his childish display. I, who was on the back the whole time, tilted my head to side for Lily-san to notice me as well. In response to that, Lily-san started to jump up and down in protest.

"And you see such as a response to try to shoot yourself truly?! Not even a baboon with half a brain would be so trigger-happy in the face of a simple scare!" Lily-san protested back.

"Shut up! You're lucky this is only an airsoft gun, or else that would've capped the hell out of your a-...!" But then Renji stopped right on his tracks and looked at his own airsoft pistol with puzzled, horrified eyes. Out of doubt and surprise, I did the same, and noticed something that made me gasp: there were fumes coming from the tip of the barrel. Not just that, but there were bullet marks and cracks next to where Lily-san was standing, not to mention the holes on the windows in front of us. "W-What the… What the hell…?"

"As I was saying, be mindful of your actions, for this world does not have the same applicability as yours." The little auburn fox said, and for that we could only nod in agreement, despite the fact that we both were very lost regarding everything that has been happening so far. Suddenly, we hear hurried steps coming to our direction, and soon enough like last time we saw a bunch of shadows coming, wearing the male and female uniforms of Kagami High but hiding themselves behind blank-colored masks. "Curses, your little display of foolishness had drawn the attention of the nearby shadows! Now we must fight them off before they call for backup!"

"L-Like I was the only one screaming like a little girl! You screamed too, didn't he?!" Renji looked at me with irritated eyes, like he was searching for proof or witness in me. I made a face and a shrug, but said nothing as we turned our attention to the shadows that has spotted us. "Ugh, whatever! Let's give those shadows a piece of our mind! Maybe like that I can blow off some steam!"

_'Humans… Humans… HUMANS… HUMANS…!'_ The shadows we were up against growled in our direction, soon exploding in black goo like last time only to morph into small, fairy-like being with crimson hair and insectoid wings wearing blue leotards, being tiny as such! The started to giggle and flew towards us! _'Heehee! You're, like, so screwed! We're gonna screw you up!'_

"Damned shadows! Very well, come forth and face your demise!" Lily-san screamed with the screech of a warrior, picking his kodachi sword to slash the air in front of him only for his Persona to open a space rift and come in action, charging against those fairies and splashing them on its hull like flies on a car window! Even so, they didn't stop, instead charging at us!

"Ah hell! They are coming towards us!" Renji said, reaching for a nearby trashbin and picking its lid to defend himself, while I could only try to reach for my knife, only to stop… Wait… Renji did say he give me an airsoft gun… But then why did that happen… I reached for my own pistol, aimed the barrel at one of the fairies, pulled the hammer, pulled then trigger and then…!

***BANG!***

_'Kyaaah~! That was so, like, not cool! So uncool…' _And it happened! Just like what happened to Renji, the revolver which still weights and feels like an airsoft gun shot a real bullet out of it, hitting that fairy right in the stomach and making it disappear in black dust. So, for some reason those weapons shoots like real guns here?! That is… Really frightening, but at the same time, so badass! I shot some others more, and like before, they disappear in thin air after a fatal shot in their bodies!

"Renji! Use your pistol to shoot those fairies! They can shoot real bullets in her-…!" And I dodged for a nail a bullet coming from his pistol, as he shot another one of those fairy shadows and turned it to dust! It seems that he figured it out too! I could only hear him laughing as he disposed of another cartridge to load another one into his pistol and resume his shooting!

"Hell yeah! I don't know what is going on, but you're going down, you damn pixies!" He declared with his determination back, and I let out a small chuckle for that. However, those fairies are too many for all of us, and I am running out of bullets to even reload it in time! So I shove my hand into my pocket and pick a glowing butterfly knife on my possession, cutting the air in front of me and opening a rift in it!

"Come, Persona!" I commanded, and soon enough Nero, the father of abominations and sinners of Earth, came forth with his black and red musician attire and flaming head with a golden halo crown above his head! I heard a laugh coming from him, and in one smooth move, he opened both his hands and let his bow-like fingers run across the strings on his arms, producing a despairing, deranged sound from which fireballs came from, burning the remaining pixies in the air!

The area was finally clean from those swarm of fairies, black dust dancing around the onslaught as air wasn't as heavy and silence came to reign supreme again. Once everything qas done for, Nero turned to me, laughed and turned into a blue flame once again to come back to my knife. I sighed in relief, but ended up coughing a bit. I feel… Tired, both mental and physically. Does… Does summoning this Persona thing is that tiring?

"It seems that you two have shown yourselves to be quite reliable in a pinch. I constructed the wrong impression out of you, after all." I heard a squicky, high-pitched voice call for our attention, so both Renji and I turned downwards for the source of it, looking at the orange fox in naval military attire, which wasn't frowning anymore. To be honest, his expression was quite relaxed and upbeat. In the end, he bowed. "I shall apologize for my previous behavior. It was not only uncalled for, but rude as well, my frustration for losing grasp of a shadow not being an excuse for such. As for that, I humbly offer my gratitude and apologies."

"Hah! Now that's more like it! Maybe you see now that we can hold on our own here, right foxy?" Renji laughed mischievously, supporting himself on my shoulder as he let out a devilish smile to the fox under us, but soon jumping out of the way once he accidently pulled the trigger on his pistol and almost shot his own foot! I jumped away to avoid that one bullet, and Lily-san's expression soured, like he just regretted everything said so far. Once things calmed down and the brunet remembered the first rule about gun safety (if there is no intention to shoot, never rest a finger on the trigger or point it at someone), we started to share some things with each other.

"So, you're back. Even when humans were not supposed to come to the mirror world, you still return. Any reason as for why?" The fox asks as Renji starts to reload his gun and clean it a bit, having only me to answer for both of us to the small animal.

"Uh, sorry about everything, Lily-san. It's just… We think a shadow might've taken the appearance of a classmate of ours, and… I'm fearing that something might have happened to her…" I said. The little fox was taken back for my sentence, but soon nodded back.

"I see… A woman. How novelistic." He declares. I can feel my cheeks heating up a bit as I start to shake both my hands up in a negative sign.

"N-N-No! It's nothing like that! I mean, it might look like it, b-but it's nothing like that…!" I start to sweat, Lily-san having something akin to a ghost of a smile on his black little lips! Me, stuttering? So uncool. "She's a classmate of ours, and we don't want her to get hurt. Besides, we think her shadow might be around and going back and forth to our school, and if shadows can do there what they can do here, everybody might be in great danger."

"Yeah, it's not we care about her or something. Miss Prim and proper is pain in the ass, but better her than some shadow asshole wrecking our school." Renji concluded the only way he knew how, and I scratched my rosy cheeks, feeling a bit of warmth coming from them still. Lily-san looked at us, one at the time, and sighed.

"I see, so the Demon King started acting as for now. The cognition and fame of that woman of yours must be quite a big one for her Shadow self to be of such strength." Lily-san said, his stare becoming serious and quite menacing as his eyes turned to the students building. Wait, so is he saying that big brain by the other side of the school is actually a creation of her Shadow?

"Lily-san, when you say things like 'Demon Lords', 'shadows' and 'cognition', you mean that this place is a creation of what people by the other side think about this school?" I question him one more time, and he turns to me with a nod as Renji blinks a few times.

"Correct, young man." He says with a serious tone, pointing his nose towards the black brain pulsating by the other side of the school buildings. "This place is indeed a Mirror World because it superficially reflects everything from your side; not just images but thoughts and lingering feelings as well. That's why the shadows are wearing the same uniform as you and your partner here, since they captured their image from the thoughts from the other side, same goes for those weapons of yours, which while they might be like toys, as long as they look realistic enough, the work as just normal here. The demon King, the king of this Kingdom, who took the appearance of that woman of yours grew exponentially stronger since her '_image'_, her imprinting on the place known to you as school, is exceptionally concentrated and dense."

"I don't get it." Renji faults a little, his head hanging low for thinking too much, making me chuckle a bit, while a red vein popped on the fox's head.

"I figured you wouldn't." The fox concluded. "Basically, this woman of yours has a fame, a mark in your school, and for that her image is clearer in here, and thus gives a more powerful identity for a shadow to take over and grow stronger, thus creating a Demon Lord."

"You did say she was known as quite a Miss Prim and Proper, Renji…" I turned to him, and he nods a little. I think he is starting to get it a little. "but to think it would end up like that… It must be hard for her… I bet we're not the only ones who think her as a teacher's pet."

"…" Renji says nothing, only gulps hard, his eyes starting to get a little cloudy. He turns back to the fox. "Hey fox…"

"You know my name, scoundrel. To refer to me as such knowing such is beyond rude."

"Okay! Okay… Lily." Renji grunts, but then turns serious. "And how… Those Persona thingies you and him can call forward? Are those shadows as well? Like, they seem pretty chill for shadows…"

"Yes… And no." The fox answered, but I could only get a dumbfounded expression coming from the brunet. "**Shadows** and **Personas**… They are both creations of cognitions and identities, and you can say they are the opposite sides of the same coin: opposites yet equals. However, unlike Shadows, Personas are created when one's inner self subdues their 'image', and comes forth anew against the thoughts and distortions of others…"

"…"

"Oh, for the Love of… A Persona is created when one's own self-worth is stronger than others think of him or her, and it serves as an armor against those thoughts, which are basically what shadows possesses!" The little fox started to jump up and down in frustration, explaining as simple as possible for us what those whole concepts were, all while we both finally snap in realization, hammering a hand on our palm to show that we finally got it. Wait, this is what Igor said back in the Velvet Room, right? _'A mask that I use in order to confront with life's hardships'_, was it?

"Huuuh~, I see, I see." Renji then crosses his arms and nods like he is in deep thoughts. "But how do you know so much about those things, Lily? I mean, are you a shadow or a Persona or something like that Demon King?"

"Huh~, you hurt me by categorizing me in such lower ways, you brat." The fox pouts. "Lily is Lily, no more nor less. There is only one Lily, and it is I, Lily."

"Right, if that makes any sense…" Renji grunts. We in the end got nothing out of the fox, but for a moment, even after answering that, he looked a bit… Concerned? He shakes his little furry head and turns to us with a determined look.

"Just accepts things as they are, and keep a firm grasp on everything, including yourself, otherwise you might end up swallowed by this version of your Shadow and possessed by it." He explains. So the process inverse of one getting a Persona can also happen, and a shadow might end up possessing us… Wait.

"Does… Does that mean ishigami-san might be possessed by a shadow? Her Shadow?" I question the fox with urgency, and he looks at me at first surprised, but then frowns.

"Certainly. Shadows' first and foremost objective is to cause havoc and feed on the darkness of the human heart in order to grow stronger, and they can take the shape of humans by feeding on their image, but a demon lord might be able to possess a human in a process similar, yet reversed as one acquires a Persona. If they were to spread more fear and despair on your side, they might be able to grow even more than just this school." He concludes. I share a stare with Renji, who's also starting to put the pieces together, his lips trembling a little.

"H-Hey, you don't think those shadows… Have something to do… About those incidents back in our side… Right?" He asks, and since I got no answer for my own, I shake my head negatively, my expression showing that I didn't know the answer for sure. But Ishigami-san… I mean, Ishigami-san's shadow did have those broken-like wounds on her body, the same as those victims of those Breakdown syndromes, so does that mean… It has been happening for a while. I let out a moan of nervourness, a chill running down my spine, but then a small glimpse of light came from the back of my head… No, I mustn't lose heart.

"No matter. We should go and help Ishigami-san now that we have more than one reason to save her. Those shadows… They do want to mess around." I am still a bit trembled, but I stomp hard on the floor, flip my switchblade a few times and started to walk towards the students building. We must continue before things get out of hand. The fox smiles confidently seeing my newfound courage and walked to right beside me.

"Nice eyes, young man. For your display of courage and resolution, you shall become my apprentice. That we walk the path together to uncover the false world." He says, and despite the absurdness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile. "On the other hand, I apologize for not asking for your name. Mind sharing the name of my apprentice, young man?"

"Sure, my name is… Ichika Amano." I answered the fox, and with a happy pout, in nodded back at me. It took a while, but apparently the fox is getting used to me. Man, to think I would be able to think something like that… But not time to waste, we should go and help Ishigami-san.

"Hey, my name Renji Akabane, by the way!" Renji entered the moment between us with a smile and showing his face towards the fox. "Now, you have no reason to call me 'scoundrel' ever again, right? You say so yourself!"

"I see… Renji Akabane… Not as impactful as young Ichika's name, but it is to be expected from a monkey." The little fox noted. Renji was now fuming.

"Oh screw you, you stupid fox! Give a break for once!" He whines, and I let out a small chuckle for this. Even in a place like this, I think there can be some moments of levity.

"Alright, I shall 'give you a break', Renji Akabane." The fox smiles, and satisfied, Renji crosses his arms and lets out a grateful sigh, wordlessly saying he's okay with that for now. I guess we should go on with our quest, as fast as possible…

***TING!***

"…?" However, we couldn't take the first step, by the end of the dark corridor, I saw… A small glint of light? Suddenly, all the fur around Lily-san's body got up, and he shot his body to a direction, reaching his teeth to his kodachi.

"Akabane! Young Ichika! Watch out, there is a shad-…!"

***BAAAAAAAAM!***

"GYAAAAAAAAH…!" And fast as lightning, there was a shock, there was a powerful blow on all of us, that blew us away from the corridor and away from the sports building! The hard concrete couldn't withstand us, and we ended up breaking through and falling to the lower grounds, our bodies them slamming against the rooftop of a new place and into the darkness! It took a while for me to found some ground to stand up on and finally for my eyes to get used to the darkness, but then lights came from the ceiling, almost blinding me, but when my eyes got also used to it, I found myself in a new location. "The… The gym…? No, an arena?"

And I wasn't even joking: we were in a gym, or rather, an arena shaped like a gym, the ground floor with chalk-like drawings resembling laps, an entire lake surrounding it and weapons spread across the floor together with typical P.E. materials like balls, weights and nets. I looked up, and in the stands were inhabited by those same masked shadows, but now wearing gym clothes.

"U-Ugh… What the hell…?" I look down next to myself, and both Renji and Lily-san were also on the floor, trying to get up. I tried to reach a hand for him, but then from the ceiling something heavily landed next to us, blowing both me and Lily-san away, as it grabbed Renji by the wrist to face it in the eye. He tried to fight, but the moment he did, only one word escaped his lips. "F-Fujitaka…?!"

_'You… MAAAAAAAGGOOOOOOOOT…!'_ And that voice, despite being quite distorted, was from Fujitaka-sensei, but the being using his form was completely different: instead of the slightly overweight, shaggy-haired teacher with gym clothes, it was instead a gigantic humanoid abomination wearing only a battle thong, golden greaves and a red cape, a gladiator helm showing only his squarish facial features and sick golden eyes. However, the most dreadful thing about his image was his left-arm: instead of a hand, there was a massive, claymore-like rusty blade with the words 'Kyouka' craved on it! Without losing a second, it lifted Renji up and pulled his bladed arm for a strike. _'AKABANE… YOU… YOU… MAGGOT…!'_

"Gyaaah…!"

"Persona!" I screamed as I cut the air with my switchblade and Nero manifested to cleave a wound on Fujitaka's… Shadow? Wounding his arm with a superficial cut, but enough to make him let go of Renji and scream in pain. Once away from his grasp, Renji pulled out his gun and ran next to me and Lily-san!

"Holy shit! What the hell is this?! Is he… Is he really Fujitaka?!" Renji asks, Nero trying to cleave another wound on Fujitaka's arm again, only to be hit away by his massive arm and the wound in it heal after being covered in black goo. Lily-san summons his Persona and charges the shadowy Fujitaka-sensei, tossing him to the other side of the gym.

"No, this is the shape of this Fujitaka takes by your school, this is the way your school views Fujitaka. His Shadow self… By the heavens, you have such figures around." Lily-san said, his Persona Jason trying to make Fujitaka-sensei stay in place, but then he uses his sword to cut the small toy-soldier at the top of the toy ship, making it lose control and clash! So… Not just Ishigami-san, but Fujitaka-sensei has a reputation, which gave birth to this… **Shadow Fujitaka**!

"You… You bastard!" Renji exclaims, pulling the trigger on his revolver and unloading his bullets against Shadow Fujitaka! The golden gladiator, however, only smiled, and charged against us! Bang! Bang! Bang! The bullets wouldn't stop, but neither would Shadow Fujitaka! Not only that, the projectiles would bounce off his skin and hit elsewhere, but never leave a mark! "W-What the hell?! What's going on?! What doesn't it hit him?!"

"You fool! Shadows have different properties, weaknesses and resistances from one to another! This one seems to be able to reflect projectiles!" Lily-san concluded, his Persona again charging against Shadow Fujitaka, and locking each other in a Sumo grip! "Run as you can, Akabane! You don't have a Persona, you wont be able to withstand a full-force of a Shadow!"

"B-But…!" Renji takes a step back, and I was about to summon Nero once again to help Lily-san, but then Shadow Fujitaka let out a scream, and soon enough the shadows which were just cheering and watching from above started to jump into the arena.

_'FOUL GAME! FOUL GAME! THREE AGAINST ONE IS FORBIDDEN! CHANGE!'_ He screamed with all of his strengths, and so the shadows would jump, turn into blobs and then into those monsters from before. This time, however, they all took the shape of floating pumpkins wearing a witch hat and carrying a small lantern!

_'Hee-ho, hee-ho! Burn it down, hee-ho, burn it, hee-ho, down!'_ They would laugh, and from their lanterns, a true inferno of flames came forth. Renji, who couldn't move out of desperation, was almost caught by the fires, but before that could happen, I shoved him elsewhere, for a nail also escaping the flaming nightmare!

"Damn it… Come forth, Nero!" I summon my Persona, and like before, the King of Abominations appeared and casted his agi spell from his fingers, burning those pumpkin monsters in pillars of fire… But then, from the heart of the pillars of flames, I heard a ring of a bell, and out of the sudden the flames started to get absorbed! In the end, those Jack o'lanterns absorbed all of Nero's flames, only laughing maniacally. "What the…?!"

_'Hee-ho! Bad move, bro!'_ One of them laughed, and just like before, I heard several rings of a bell, and from their lanterns, those hellish pumpkings summoned several, innumeral fireballs from within! Nero was fast enough to try to shield us, but the massive barrage of flames was too much for it, and it ended up disappearing after a few hits, my hurt starting to burn by feeling that! I cough a bit of blood. Is this… The damage I took after my Persona? More and more fireballs started to rain on us! But then suddenly… Jason came and shielded us all! 'Hee-hooo…?'

"True cowardice is shown when facing a fallen foe. Scum like you has no place in this world!" From the upper part of the Ship jumped Lily-san, eyes burning intensively as the toy-ship opened some windows on its hull to show several cannons from within. "Jason! Triple down them!"

The toy ship seemed to laugh, and then rained cannonballs onto the cursed pumpkins, making them scream in agony as they turned back to ash and disappeared completely! Once the shower of fumes and ash ended, Lily-san landed next to me and started to limp as Jason vanished in thin air… Damn, he's tired as well. In the end, there were still a bunch of shadows around, not to mention Shadow Fujitaka… And he turned to us with a smile from inside his helmet.

'Maggots… Maggots weak… Specially Akabane… DIE…!' he screams, not losing any second to charge at us with full speed! Without losing a second, I picked Lily-san and jumped to a side while Renji also rolled away from harm's way… But Shadow Fujitaka was too fast! He ended up kicking Renji to a wall and pinned him there! _'WEAK, WEAK, WEAK…!'_

"Renji…!" I exclaimed, but then those Jack o'lanterns started to gang up on us, and before I could stand up, a massive bipedal horse stomped on me, pinning me to the ground. As for Lily-san, those fairy-like shadows picked him up and started to harass him, pinching his cheeks and toying with his fur. However, the one who was in more danger was Renji, who was at the mercy of Shadow Fujitaka.

'Weak, so weak…' Shadow Fujitaka said, a grin never leaving his lips as his gigantic, massive hand holding and pinning Renji to a wall started to turn black, and then ooze a dark, disgusting goo from within, which started to crawl onto Renji's face. 'Always so weak… So pathetic… never listens…But… Good… Since you are always like that… No need to change… Right…?'

"What are you talking ab-…?" Renji tried to protest, but the black goo started to crawl all over his face, going inside his mouth, ears and then eyecorners, to the point it spread all across his body little by little, like a sick black ink. He started t o kick, but then… His struggles died down, and he grew more and more apathic... Oh no, it was exactly what almost happened to me the other day! "Yes… I am weak… OI am lazy… And weak… And don't like school… I should just… Accept it…"

"Renji! Fight! Don't let it get to you! You know you're more than that! Who was the one who got all excited about helping Ishigami-san?! Who got all trigger-happy back there! Don't give in1" I screamed in protest! Like Lily-san said, this place is moved and works due to cognition, but inside and outside! If he can fight it, maybe, just maybe…!

'Down, you maggot! Coach Fujitaka is on command!' But that same bipedal horse forced me down, making me eat dirt. I shot my eyes back, and little by little the black ooze was covering all of Renji's body, and his eyes started to glow yellow. Oh no…

"You're right, coach… I am… A lazy… Unispired, good-for-nothing slacker… And I shouldn't change that… I just should… act as I am told…" He says, a small smile forming on his lips. "After all… I should just stay here… Its calm… And quiet… A nice place for a slacker like me… Yeah. I deserve… To be here…"

'Yes… YOU MAGGOT!' The shadow declared, forcing his hand against Renji's neck like he was about to break it, but he didn't react to anything, only nodded… And let it happen…

…

"This... Is what you wanted me to say… Right?"

'…?!' But then, out of nowhere, Renji shot his head back at Shadow Fujitaka, eyes turn back to their normal brown, and a new flame burning from within! He grabbed the gladiator by the hand and started to twist it, so much that he was forced to let of go Renji, whose entire body was now clean of shadows as Shadow Fujitaka took a few steps behind, surprised and horrified.

"The thing is… Coach… I don't have any interest in your stupid classes, nor want to spend the rest of my evening hearing you scream on my ear. You might think I am a slacker because of that… but you're wrong!" he screams, his eyes shining confidence as a strong gush of wind starts to blow onto every direction. "Think whatever you want about me… I'm not like that at all! I am ME!"

'You… MAGGOT!' He Was taken back a little, but then shadow Fujitaka let out an animalistic roar and charged against Renji. But what he didn't notice was that Renji pulled from inside his sleeves something that… looked more like a curved blade! He aimed at his throat, turned the sharp edge to it, and smiled.

"I am no maggot, Fujitaka… I am me! And I will show you… Right… Now!" And then, before Shadow Fujitaka could even touch him, Renji made the edge of his curved blade run across his throat and cut down his flesh to shower everything in red! "I summon thee… [**KIPPOUSHI]**!"

***BAAAAAAAAAM…!***

_'Wha… WHAT IN THE WORLD…?!'_

***BANG!***

'U-UWAAAAAAAAH…!' And just like last time, Renji was surrounded by a massive pillar of blue energy, forming a tornado of pure velvet glow with him in the center, blowing everything in sight! Shadow Fujitaka tried to shake off this display of power, but before he could act, the sound of a shot was heard, and within it, he was blown away by a greenish tornado that seemed to have come out of nowhere!

From inside the mist, the shots didn't stop! Bang! Bang! Bang! Shots and more shots were coming from inside blue aura in which Renji was engulfed, and one by one the shadows around were blown away by strong gushes of wind that came out of nowhere, leaving only me and Lily-san unharmed. I stood up together with the fox, and looked forward to seeing the silhouette that little by little was showing itself across the arena…

And there was Renji, standing up and tall, a massive black scythe at hand and spinning on his fingers, while a new figure was standing behind him: clad in complete black and gold stood a massive samurai armor with long tengu-like sandals, but instead of a kabuto-helmet, there was a black military cap with the shape of a rising golden sun at the cap! Tubes shaped like industrial chimneys spelled a greenish smoke from the tips, and instead of katanas, the figure had long-barrel muskets with golden details and a mask covering its face shaped like something I can only describe as a space opera villain face smoking a Japanese pipe! Renji looked to behind himself and grinned…

"Holy shit… WOOHOO! Alright, I got a Persona of my own! Freaking badass!" He cheered, and I couldn't help but chuckle while Lily-san rolled his eyes in disbelief, but I could sense some pride coming from his eyes. The fox lightly jumped to tap him on the head.

"I see… So you did have potential to awaken a persona as well… Very well, make good use of it!" The fox demanded, his voice sounding more like a light scold than an order. Recovering from the small attack, Renji grunted, but then smiled and spun his scythe again.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" He answers. I stood right next to him, and so we shared a stare at each other, grinning and turning back to the recovering shadow Fujitaka. "Let's do this, Ichika! Full speed ahead!"

"that's right!" I nodded back, picking my own knife and gun to then summon Nero one more time while Lily-san summons Jason again to stand right next to both my Persona and the new one. Shadow Fujitaka, who could only save himself from the hole he created with the impact, jumped back to the arena with his shadow lackeys and grunted, teeth and golden eyes showing only hostility.

_'Maggots… Maggots… ALL OF YOU MAGGOTS!'_ He screams with his entire lungs, more and more shadows gathering around. _'I WILL SMACK YOU ALL LIKE THE BUGS YOU ARE…!'_

"Bring it on… I'll show you who's the real maggot…" Renji says, pointing his finger forward with determination in his eyes. "Alright… **KIPPOUSHI, SHOW HIM THE POWER OF A TRUE DEMON**!"

* * *

**Character Sheet UPDATED!**

***Name: **Renji Akabane(赤羽蓮司; Akabane Renji)

**-Age:** 17 y/o

**-Arcana:** The magician(I)

**-Persona:** Kippoushi.

**-Weapon of choice:** Scythes.

**-Bio:** The first friend Ichika met during his first days in Mizuzuki, and his first partner regarding the discovery of the Mirror World, the son of the owner of a coffee shop. Despite his laidback attitude and his tendency as a jokester and a hothead, Renji sticks to his guts and lets his heart guides him towards anywhere, and while that might become a problem sometimes, it is also what makes his spirit strong and the bonds he makes in his life, specially regarding Ichika, stronger.

* * *

**Compendium UPDATED!**

***Kippoushi(Arcana: The magician):** Renji's persona. The childhood name of Nobunaga Oda, previously known as the Fool of Owari and self-proclaimed Demon Lord of the Sixth heaven, one of the three unifies of Modern Japan and the most successful japanese warlord, known for his modernization of japanese army by the use of gunfire, his mastery of tactics, devil's luck, as well as his brutal and ruthless nature against opposition, one of his most infamous tales regarding the campaigns of Mt. Hiei and his subsequent death by his own hands in the burning of Temple Honnoji. A Persona of the Magician Arcana, Kippoushi is well-versed in support and garu-based skills.

**-Resistant against:** Garu-based Skills; Hama/kouha-based skills.

**-Weakness:** Agi-based skills.

* * *

**What are your thoughts?**

**Maybe the end of the chapter was a bit too rushed for the awakening, and all things considered the cliffhangers might start getting annoying, but I promise next chapter things will start getting smoother. The full party is on, and now things are really looking up to happen! So wish me luck, thanks for reading and have a nice day!**


	5. Beyond the eyes of the beholder

**Hey there, Persona fandom! Sorry for the delay of this chapter, i seriously have no idea how i wanted to progress this part for a while, and a bit of block got me in the way, but after some time for brainstorm, i said to the hell with that excuses and come up with a chapter that I hope ended up being satisfactory after that small pause of mine. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much I liked to write it and have a nice day. Don't forget to RR and see you downway!**

**DISCLAIMER: Persona and the SMT series belongs to ATLUS and its respective writers.**

* * *

**Mirror World – Kagami High(?)**

"Alright… **KIPPOUSHI, SHOW HIM THE POWER OF A TRUE DEMON**!"

**[AYOW!] **The massive black-clad samurai Persona laughed, stomping one foot onto the ground and practically making the entire arena tremble! Without losing a second, it reached for one of long-barrel muskets in its hips and fired against the Shadows, however, instead of a bullet, what came from within was a powerful gust of wind, which blew all those Pyro Jacks away and cleaned the stadium faster than any of us! For that show of power, Renji grinned!

"Oh yeah! That's what I'm talking about! How about that, you freaks of nature!" He made a get'sum pose, one hand on his muscle as he flexed them as his Persona Kippoushi would continue to shoot and blow our enemies away! However, he was so engrossed in his manslaughter he didn't notice the Pyro Jack sneaking right behind him!

"Renji, watch out…!"

"Eh…?!"

***BANG! BANG! BANG!***

'_He-hyoo~…!'_ But before any harm could befall him, out of the sudden a golden massive toy ship appeared from the shadows and riddled those pumpkin heads full of bullets, making them disappear in a dust of black matter! Descending from the skies, Lily-san tapped the brunette on the head and grunted a little, receiving the same response from him!

"Mind your back, young one! For the enemies are many, but don't be ignorant of our presence!" The little fox said, picking his kodachi with his little mouth and slashing the nearby shadows into nonexistence! Renji grunted but nodded anyway, turning to me to pass me a few pellet bullets!

"Jeez, I know this already, you little…! Ichika! Ammunition!" I nodded, picking some of his thrown ammunition to reload my toy revolver and give lead to those flying pixies around! I summoned Nero one more time and unleash the flames onto our enemies and like before the pixies disintegrated on the onslaught with the Pyro Jacks simply absorbed them!

"They seem to absorb Flame-skills! Disciple, another strategy is required to deal with those scoundrels!" Lily-san declared, the shell of his Persona opening small windows to peak within several cannons which aimed at those floating pumpkins and in a single barrage of cannonballs, destroy them all! "They seem to be weak to gun-skills, and physical attacks are an accessible alternative! Disciple, Lord Akabane!"

"I'm on it! Kippoushi! Snap them out!" Renji declare turning his attention to the Pyro Jacks, and branding one long-barrel musket on each hand, his Persona pulled the trigger of them and little by little those shadows would be pierced by a bullet faster than lightning and turn into dust! I can't let them do the whole work!

"Nero, Cleave!" I snap back, and like a crimson Tornado Nero flew all over the place, marks of claws branding every point and assaulting every shadow that was unfortunate enough to stand in its way! One of those Pyro Jacks however rang its lantern one more time and then blew flames against Renji again! Oh no! "Renji! Nero, defend Kippoushi!"

**[HOYOW!]** The red-clad Persona declared as it tossed itself against the upcoming flames and shielded the black-armored Persona with its body! I could feel a ting of pain as the flames covered my Persona and then dissipated on air! The Pyro Jack rang its lantern again, but it was too late for it!

"Eat lead, damned Shadow!" Lily-san screamed mounting on his Persona again, and before it could react Jason pierced a bullet right on its nape, making the Pyro Jack moan one last regretful _'hee-ho'_, before disappearing. In the end, the gym was completely clean of smaller shadows, only me, Lily-san, Renji and Shadow Fujitaka remained, and so we all turned to the latter, who was looking at us with such vicious yet hesitant eyes!

"Looks like those goonies of yours weren't all that, eh! Who's the maggot now, asshole?!" Renji laughed, branding his new scythe and twirling it between his fingers. In response, Shadow Fujitaka grit his teeth and pointed his arm-blade towards us, taking his time to breathe and then charge at us!

"You little maggots… THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!" He screams as his skin turns in a bright red and demon-like tattoos spread across his body, running at full speed against us! Renji ripped the air in front of him and summoned his Persona, Kippoushi aiming at the shadow and quick-drawing a gust of wind against it! However, Shadow Fujitaka was fast enough to dodge the small tornado and still run towards us!

"No way, he dodge it?!" Renji spoke in an incredulous voice, Kippoushi still shooting yet Shadow Fujitaka would side-step from one side to another, dodging all of the windy assault until it was close enough to lock Kippoushi in a bearhug, Renji feeling it first hand since he let out a small cough and held his throat like he was choking! "Ubwah…! What the hell…?! K-Kippoushi…!"

"Not good! Nero!" I summon Nero one more time and as fast as it could, the father of abominations charged against the locked duo and slashed his fingers across Fujitaka's arm, only to have no reaction and my Persona to be kicked away by the mighty foot of Shadow Fujitaka! The blow reflected on me, and I felt a massive punch in the gut, making all the air be expelled from my mouth as I coughed a bit of saliva and bile! That one… Was nasty! "S-Shit…!"

"No good, the shadow went berserk! His intelligence might have descended, but all of his other stats went overdrive!" Lily-san declared, a small cannon popping from besides the plastic soldier on his Persona and he positioned himself behind it to peek an eye in the aim and grit his teeth. In the end, he let out a frustrated grunt! "No good, Jason cannot aim properly with Renji's Persona in the way, and even if we do, we won't be able to graze his bulletproof skin!"

"GAAAAAAAH…!" Renji screamed as the bearhug from Shadow Fujitaka grew tighter and stronger, reflecting as he spat a bit of blood, but I could see from his expression he was in great pain! Damn it, I gotta do something, Renji is in great danger, and if I don't do something…!

"Nero! Cleave Shadow Fujitaka again!" I summon Nero once again, his fingers running wild and trying its best to do some, any, damage against Shadow Fujitaka! However, they were not enough, it would only graze and leave small scratch marks, but the shadow man wouldn't let go for nothing! In the end, Shadow Fujitaka headbutted my Persona away and I came away flying to the edge of the gym, away from the others!

"Disciple!" I hear Lily-san scream for me, but I was already too far to hear anything and my head can't stop spinning… Damn it, am I going to lose…? I hear Renji choking and Lily-san gasping for air, yet I can't move at all… Damn it… C'mon Ichika… Think… Think of something… Do something… Or else…Or else…!

…

'_I am thou… Thou art I… From the sea of thy soul I cometh… You've freed me from the shackles of malice and harm… For I am a shadow no more… But a figment of humankind's spirit. Let me assist you in a moment of distress… Call me forth, and let's go!'_

"Huh…?" I put a hand next to my ear as they start to stop ringing. Wait a minute, am I hallucinating? I can hear a voice so far away, yet so near me. I blink once, twice, and then I hear glass shattering once again.

I look forward, and I notice that a flame on my hand, on my butterfly knife. This feeling, I feel a certain known, yet mysterious coming from it… I can hear something… I don't know why, but I just know… This power… Is completely new, but it feels like… I had it for the longest time… I close my eyes, and I see… A card with the image of a magician on it with the number I… I… I know… What I should do! I grip my knife tighly, aim it against the shadow in front of me and then…!

***CRASH!***

"Jack Frost, Lucky Punch!" I screamed as I cut the air in front of me, but unlike other times, it wasn't Nero who was summoned, but instead that little caricaturized snowman with blue beanie and boots and ever-present black grin! No, wait… I know its name… It's Jack Frost! Yeah! Its name its Jack Frost!

**[HEE-HO!]** The little snowman smiled devilishly, rotating one of its arm like a child as it flew to Shadow Fujitaka's direction! He couldn't even react, Jack frost landed a very painful-looking punch to his snot, making the shadow fall backwards while letting go of Renji's Persona! He finally let out a relieved gasp and fell on his knees, hands on his throat!

"Renji! You okay?!" I said as I stood up and ran as fast as I could to his side, where Lily-san was also taking his time to look at the brunette. He had a bruise on his throat and he was coughing nonstop, but since he could stand up and crack his neck a few times, I can assume he's okay in the least.

"Y-Yeah. Bastard almost crushed my throat but I'm okay…" He coughs a bit more, and after a few more he gulps a hard one one last time and turn to me, only to gasp and almost have another fit of coughs when he saw the Jack Frost next to me. "W-Whoa, dude! Watch out, that shadow from yesterday is right behind you!"

"Huh…? Ah, no worries. I mean, I know it looks like it, but this is… A completely different being." I said, pointing a thumb to the snowman behind me who was making faces to Renji's own distressed one. He looked at me, then at it, back at me with disbelief. Lily-san landed next to me and looked also at Jack Frost then at me. "I mean, I think you can say its another Persona of mine… I think?"

"Incredible… It seems you can also use other Personas." The fox declared, also being impressed yet scared of my second Persona. Wait, is this something that special? *TUM!*, all doubts or questions were muted as we heard another thunderous stomp that shook the gym from its foundations and looked to the direction it came from. Shadow Fujitaka was up once again, and was as furious as before! "We deal those matters later! We shall get rid of that shadow first!"

"On it!" Renji said, Kippoushi back to his possession. The berserker shadow grunted animalistically and charged once again at us, and so Kippoushi unleashed yet another shot against it, only for Shadow Fujitaka to side-step it and dodge it completely! "Tch, so damn annoying! If only he could stay in place…!"

"I doubt he would give himself in such disadvantageous position! Continue to shoot, Lord Akabane! He seems to be weak or at least vulnerable to wind!" Lily-san declared as it showered the shadow with bullets, in a futile attempt to stop it or slow it down for Renji to blow it away, up to no use since it would simply dodge those hits away! If only he could stop for a second for Renji to blow him away… Wait!

"Renji, try again! Use Kippoushi to shoot it again!" I commanded, turning to my Jack Frost and nodding to it. Renji turns to me with disbelieving eyes, but I give him a confidant look, and so he grinned and made a sign with his scythe!

"Fine then! I'm counting on you, Ichika!" he screams, turning back to Shadow Fujitaka! I also turn to him, flip my knife between my fingers and turn to him! "Kippoushi, **Garu**!"

'_USELESS! PRACTICE MORE AND SURPASS THIS, YOU MAGGO-…!'_ Shadow Fujitaka declared with another side-step as Renji's persona was about to pull the trigger! However, before he could do such…!

"jack Frost, now! **Bufu**!"

**[HEE-HO!]** The Jack Frost lifted a finger and touched the arena's ground! In just an instant, the entire gym floor was covered by a thin layer of ice which spread all over it, reaching the feet of the Shadow! As I was expecting: the moment it reached Shadow Fujitaka, it froze him to the ground, and he was not able to move from that spot!

'W-WHAT THE HELL…?! I'M STUCK…!' The shadow declared with a scream, trying but failing to set himself free from the ice prison, but it was too late as Kippoushi pulled the trigger on his musket and unleashed from within a massive gust of wind! The green tornado was strong, almost too strong, since it blew the shadow away up in the air, practically tossing it in the air like a ragdoll! Lily-san turned to the airborne Shadow Fujitaka and aimed his Persona at it!

"Now, young ones! Unleash your full force while he is vulnerable!" He screams, and in no time Jason was flying at full force against the flying vulnerable Shadow, tackling it very painfully in the ribs as it spat black goo! Renji and I nodded to each other and summoned our respective personas to also attack it! I close my eyes… I hear the sound of shattering glass… I see the card of the Fool Number 0 and…!

"Kippoushi, Cleave!"

"Nero, slash him!"

**[AYOW!]**

**[ORYAH!]**

***SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!***

'U-UUUUUUGGHHHH…!' The shadow silently screamed between his teeth, his body covered in dark wounds and burning marks with the barrage of slashes and hits from our respective personas! So painful, so quick, it didn't even have time to react as he came down crashing on the floor, making the entire gym tremble with the impact! He even tried to stand up, but even for a shadow, that barrage must've drained most of his strength. He can barely stand now!

"Okay, young ones! Follow me! It's time for an **ALL-OUT-ATTACK**!" The little fox between us said with a voice full of determination and fury, picking his kodachi again with his teeth and running towards the fallen shadow!

"A what now…?!" Renji asked what I was about to, but also branding his weapon and running towards the shadow like me! Lily-san only winked at us and turned his attention to Shadow Fujitaka!

"Just follow my lead and unleash your better judgement!" He commands, and so we all only nod to each other and branding our weapons, we jump onto the dizzied Shadow!

Suddenly, all the scenario turns dark, only white shadows dance in the contrasting monochromatic world! From side to side, slashes, dancing blades, wandering attacks flying at blinding speeds, gushes of blood emerge from the silhouette in the middle, the form of our fallen enemy! I cut once, twice, Lily-san slashes a million times, in the end Renji's shadow appear above all else and, like a true grim reaper, descend the coup de grace from the blade of his scythe in one smooth swift cut, painting the entire scenario in white as colors return to the world and he lands on the floor, twirling his scythe between his fingers until he supports the handle on his shoulder and smiles!

"Well, Fujitaka… **YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW**, ASSHAT!" He says as the shadow turns to dust.

And so, the rest is silence!

…

"Not bad if I say so myself, boys." The little fox declares, tossing his sword up the air and putting it back on the sheath by his back, reaching one of its paws to scratch his ears a little. Since it's all over, I can relax now, so I bend over a little to support myself on my knees and catch my breath. I don't know how we did it, but we did, and its finally over. "Honestly, I have underestimated your stamina and determination in here. But again, this is the world where the fantastic takes shape, since it's the mirror to the heart of the human world."

"I don't get what you're saying, but if you're saying that we did something very badass then yeah, I agree." Renji says, cracking his knuckles a few times and using his handle to support himself. I guess he's pretty beat as well, I felt tired too when I summoned my Persona for the first time. He gasps for air, takes a deep breath and gives me a thumb up. "Now I won't be the only lame one from us, that's nice, heh?"

"You're too far from being the lame one, Renji." I nod to him, picking him up from his stand and supporting him by offering a shoulder. He tries to play the tough guy, but I can see from here he's struggling to even keep his eyes open. Lily-san summons his Persona one more time and out of the sudden Renji gets covered in sparkles of light. Before we know it, he could stand up tall and fine, stretching himself a bit and looking at his eyes in pure surprise.

"**Dia**. It's a healing spell, but it'll only make the pain and bruises go away. Fatigue and stress are up to you, Lord Akabane." Lily-san nods at us. I see, so Persona are not just for defense or attack.

"I see, I see. Thanks a lot, Lily. I owe you one." Renji smiles and kneels down to the fox with a fist extended. Lily-san looked at it for a while, looked at him, back at the fist, then to me. I nodded, and the fox then let out a smiling sigh and responded with a paw in a fist-bump. Renji turns to me. "Nice, nice. I think we're doing pretty good! Now that I also got this power, to find Class Rep will be a piece of cake."

"Yeah…" I nod. However, a shiver runs down my spine and all of my senses go overdrive. I turn to Lily-san and he responded with every string of his fur up, turning to me and then to behind us, where the source of that feeling was coming! From the black dust of defeat, we saw a figure stand up on the floor of the arena, a foul aura emanating from it as that part of the gym was turning black once again. "Oh no. He is still fighting…"

"Oh my God… How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?!" Renji groans back, cracking his knuckles and picking his scythe from the floor, the bluish fiery aura emitting from him saying the healing magic worked and he's ready for another try. I also pick my own knife and was ready to summon either one of my personas to defend myself, but the small auburn fox stood right in front of us.

"Wait a moment, young ones. This Shadow… He's hostile no more." The small fox declares, and so we turn our eyes from him to the shadow which was still on the floor… Only for it to turn to us with those golden eyes and smile. That expression puzzled us to no end, and to make things worse, it began to speak, not scream, speak, in a calm, almost melancholic tone…

'_I see… So this is how it is… Hahah… You got me, Akabane… Maybe… Maybe I'm really the maggot…'_ He says in a calm voice, and Renji, who was so far so negative and confrontational, seems hesitant to even act. The shadow lowered his head, nodded to himself and sighed. _'Oh… Maybe I'm really the weak one… If I were worth something… Maybe if I were a better coach, maybe… Oh, I'm so sorry, Suguru-chan…'_

"…?" I tilted my head to a side. What's he talking about? Suddenly, the feeling in my spine tenfold out, and I feel a presence so malevolent I couldn't help but to tremble. I look forward to the exit of the gym-arena, and shadows start to crawl from it, spreading their darkness everywhere and consuming the lights in their wake!

"Curses! The shadows noticed us! Quick, young ones, we shall retreat for now!" The fox commanded taking its way from the nearest exit.

"Wait, I can still…!" Renji tried to protest, but one step and he already kneeled on the floor again, gasping for air and struggling to stand. Yeah, no, he's in no condition to continue fighting! Picking him by the arm to support his stance, we followed Lily-san to the nearest exit, leaving behind a defeated Shadow Fujitaka while escaping the growing darkness of other Shadows…

…

"Man, that was close. Even with our Personas, I don't think we would be able to defeat all of those shadows…" I sighed once away from danger. Now, Renji, Lily-san and I were in a safe place near the gym building of the mirror world's version of Kagami high, in a dumpster from where we originally entered the real school. Once I put Renji down, however, he was deep in thoughts, thinking really hard about something. "Hey, Renji… Are you okay? You're awfully quiet right now…"

"That… Shadow Fujitaka… He seemed regretful for some reason." He ponders to himself, hands on chin and taking a small sigh to himself, looking back at us. "I mean, I know that is just his shadow and stuff… But that should be, like, his reflection or something about how people see him… Right?"

"While oversimplified, that is correct, lord Akabane." Lily-san entered our talk. "That is the result of the collected unconsciousness of the one known as Fujitaka back in your world. All views, rumors, distortions of image, that is the amalgamation of all those factors possessed by a Shadow. They have no real emotions or though, simply mimicking those from the source of its origins."

"Huh, so are you telling me someone thinks he's a mopey regretful guy who cries a lot? Not likely." Renji chuckles and waves a hand dismissively, but I can see that he's still pondering those thoughts a lot. "I know the guy since last year, and from all the rumors I heard he has been like that for a while. Beating people for no reason and calling everyone a maggot, there's no way someone in our school sees him like that!"

"I just know what I know, lord Akabane. You take your own conclusions." Lily-san finished his observation, while I remained with my own. I mean, from the few times I encountered him, I can say Fujitaka-sensei doesn't look like the guy who would have that fame or even some fans, but then again, Lily-san did say that image is a reflection of what all the school thinks of him. What if…

"What if… That side of him… Comes from Fujitaka-sensei himself?" I observed, and Renji, who has been laughing to himself for a while, paused and looked a bit somber. The gloomy aura surrounding us grows colder, but in the end, Renji sighs and shakes his head to get rid of those thoughts, giving me a thumb up.

"Aw, the good thing is that we escaped without a hitch, and I've got a new manpower to deal with whatever is holding Class Rep captive! This will be a piece of cake from now on!" He smiles and fakes a pose of determination; I can see in his eyes. However, he let out a sincere sigh of exhaustion and supported himself on a wall. "But man, I'm beat. No wonder you couldn't stand the first time you summoned Nero, this Persona thing is tiring."

"Indeed. I'm glad we found another important asset in our shadow battle in Lord Akabane, but to engage in battle as such in that state would be madness. I suggest we regroup and rethink our plan some other time." Lily-san says with a nod. Yeah, we need to think about the safety of our group as well. We might be forcing to save Ishigami-san, but going headfirst is a bad idea, even so in this state.

"You said it, Lily. Now, to go back to our world." Renji says, turning to a mirror that has been facing us, supported on the outer gate of the school. He reached for it, knocked it a few times with his knuckles and we saw that same ripple effect on its surface. "It would be risky for us to go back from that same mirror back in the building. Not only the way is filled with shadows, but I bet the real Fujitaka is scanning the place for us… Hey, you think we can use this mirror to enter this world from now on?"

"I can't see why not. I suspect yes." I said, and to confirm that theory I kicked the sheens of that mirror to break it through. Just like that other mirror, the surface shattered itself, but instead of breaking itself apart, it showed from the other side a portal leading to a brighter, warmer side. I see, so we can use this mirror to enter this world too. I guess this will be our meeting spot from now on.

"Sweet, it worked." Renji declares and he finishes the job, kicking the door a few more times until it 'opened' a vortex big enough for us to pass through. Good thing it was one of those large closet mirrors. Turning to Lily-san, the brunette grinned and said those before jumping to the other side. "This place is a nice spot as our meeting point! I'll go on ahead and see if there's no one around!"

"Got it." I nodded, and there he went to the other side of the Mirror World, leaving only me and Lily-san here. A few seconds, later, I hear Renji signals that the area was clear, and so I broke a few more shards off that mirror and turned to Lily-san. "Well, goodbye and thank you for your help again, Lily-san. I hope we can work together to the end of this cas-…"

"Young disciple… You are able to summon more than one Persona. How is that possible?" But before I could finish my sentence, he cut me down with such question, his eyes shining bright and intense, making me gasp in surprise a little. Wait, is that uncommon? I mean, I do remember that long-nosed gentleman saying that I had the potential of such, but… Is that so special?

"I… I honestly don't know. I'm sorry, Lily-san. Isn't that normal?" I lower my head in shame since I can't think of a more satisfactory answer, but that's all I have for that. The fox seems a bit disbelieved for a moment, but soon his eyes soften a little.

"I see. While I belief that too much power leads to pride and ruin, your display of courage and resolution for our group has enlighten me about your true nature. A good person you are, Ichika Amano, and I believe in both you and your better judgement regarding that power." He huffs pridefully, but I can sense a bit of comfort and trust from him too. I guess that he trusts me for now, and that's nice. I have no reason to lie, and he seems to believe me regardless how much we know about it each, so I couldn't help but to smile. "Please, do not make my assumptions grow false. This is a deal between men of honor."

"Yeah. Thanks, Lily-san." I nodded to his words of trust and encouragement.

I feel a faint link of trust between Lily-san and I.

***TING!***

…?

**[I AM THOU, THOU ART I… THOU HAST ACQUIRED A NEW LINK OF TRUST…]**

**[IT SHALL GUIDE THEE ACROSS THE FAKE WORLD OF ILLUSIONS…]**

**[WITH THE BIRTH OF THE **_**CHARRIOT**_** ARCANA, THOU SHALT BE BLESSED WITH A NEW POWER.]**

"Young Ichika, is something to matter? You seem… Pensive." The little fox snaps me back into reality, and I just shake my head negatively, falsely reassuring him about my current state of mind. That little voice inside my head once again, but this time, a different arcana, with a different person, well animal, too. I wonder if those are the Confidants Igor has been talking about lately?

"It's nothing. Well, take care Lily-san. Remember, this will be our meeting spot from now on, so hope for our return." I said to the fox.

"Gadly. Until we meet again, my disciple." He returns my greet, and with nothing else to say, we bid our goodbyes and I jumped into the vortex back to the real world…

…

…

**4/11(20XX) – Tuesday (Cloudy) ****→ Morning(Kagami High)**

Quiz time for the time being!

You thought you would spend your entire schooltime dozing off? Not while Katase-sensei, the chalk sniper, is being your homeroom teacher! Jokes aside, can you answer this question, please?

There were many roman emperors throughout histories, some more famous than others, and some more infamous than others. One of those infamous ones, though, reigned between AD 37 and AD 41. The great-nephew of emperor Tiberius, he took the mantle of such after the latter's death in AD 37. His reign was showered in insanity, and all forms of myths surrounded him were created, including cases of incest, depravity, lunacy and madness abound. Do you know what figure I'm talking about?

Nero

Caligula

Marquis de Sade

Julius Caesar

If your answer is **B**, then you're correct! You have been paying attention to my classes after all!

Yes, Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, better known as Caligula (Little Boots) due to his habit of donning military garments as a child, was the predecessor of Emperor Tiberius. Although some of his tales are not confirmed, it is believed that he waged a war against the ocean and collected shells as booty, married a pregnant woman in order to not to wait for an heir and named his favorite horse as a consul. However, it is not without some good points was his reign: he also enacted public works like improvements to several harbors during the famine, which was fundamental for the increase of food imports, and expansion and upgrading of the roman road system and a revolutionary new major aquaducts until his death in 41 AD.

While infamous on his own, little did he would know about the atrocities of his successor and great-nephew: **Nero**.

**Renji –** Man, I guess even history can be hardcore sometimes!

…

…

**Morning → Lunchtime(Kagami High)**

"So, class rep didn't show up at all during classes. That's gotta be something about that… Shadow Class rep we saw this morning…"

"I have few reasons to doubt that." I question him back.

It's lunchtime, and in order to put our minds at ease and formulate a plan in our infiltration into the mirror world to save Ishigami-san Renji invited me to eat with him at the rooftop of Kagami high. Once we reached the highest place in the school, the otherwise deserted rooftop filled with broken chairs and seats and metal fences built on the brink of it to avoid students from jumping to their deaths, we started to talk about what transpired today. It was a completely normal day, if not by a minor but rather frightening detail: Miyu Ishigami, the class rep of class 2-D, didn't show up at all for classes. Even Katase-sensei seemed very frustrated and surprised she didn't show up, and everybody started to talk among themselves the reason as to why, none of them having any idea what truly is happening but me and Renji. Really, she has such a reputation around, it's scary…

"Y'know, after seeing everything from that point of view, I'm starting to feel kinda bad about class rep." Renji says, munching on his yakisoba bread and drinking another can of Red Bull. I give him a quick glance with a bite on my omelet. He seems a bit regretful. "I mean, if the reason she was kidnapped in the first place was because the shadow who took her was way too strong due to that cognition bull, maybe I'm the one to blame for that. I keep saying she's this and that, I ain't helping much in her case."

"Don't say that." I sigh. He looks at me in surprise, so I continued. "Remember what Lily-san said: a shadow got strong and became a Demon Lord because of what the entire school thinks of her, whatever is true or not, so maybe if you're really regretful, that might help her fight the control of her shadow."

"Uh… Huh. Yeah, I still don't get much of that shit…" He tilts his head downwards, but even so frowns his eyes and his orbs turn on in a burst of determination. "But I'm saying this now: when we save her, I'm going to say I'm sorry for all the things I said about her… And wait for her to apologize about ripping my Shounen Jump to pieces."

"…"

"What? It's not my fault the front page was about the cute ghost girl manga! I'm a healthy boy to think about that!" He whines a bit on my case, and for that I sigh, but let out a chuckle in his little display of childishness. I guess some levity is good for the mind, and once in the mirror World, that is essential for survival. Renji ceased his whining and called for my attention. "Speaking of ghosts, that Persona thing is amazing… But to acquire that… What the fox said, I had to make the _real_ me to win against the _other_ me. Like, to make the _me_ me fight against and win the me that others think of me. Hey, was the same thing for you?"

"More or less." I responded. I don't know about his case, but mine was also far from pleasant. "I just remember a voice calling for me, calling me to fight against those shadows and reach a real me. Before I knew it, I could summon Nero and do his spells with no problem, although I was pretty beat afterwards."

"Oh, just like me, then." Renji concludes, supporting himself on the fence and taking another sip of his energy drink. "When that bastard Fujitaka got a hold of me, I dunno, I felt like I was being consumed, and voices started to call for me. They would call me a slacker, a good-for-nothing, a lazy bum who had nothing else to do besides scratch his ass or sleep through classes. And amidst them… there was the voice of my old man."

"…?"

"But, y'know, when they were shouting those, I heard your voice calling for me, and then I woke up and realized that, yeah, I am more than just those asshats call me. Like, it's not because I hate those lectures or Fujitaka's classes that I don't do anything else! It's not for them to determinate my worth or some bullshit!" He smiles to me, extending a fist for me, which I responded with a fistbump. He seems a lot happier now. "So, thanks man! You helped me lots today, so from now on, I got you back!"

"Yeah." I smiled at him too. I think I'm starting to get closer to him a bit more. A small blue flahs crosses my eyes, and I saw the card of a magician rolling around until it blinked back to nothingness. That sign again, what those mean? When I snapped back to reality, I saw Renji turn to the horizon with a determined look.

"I got my persona, but for that, I had to fight those voices and their mean words. I'm used to them and they mean shit for me… But for class rep… She has been lifting so much bullshit from everyone, no wonder she got kidnapped by those shadows." He observed, and I realized what he's getting to: like Lily-san said, a process in which a shadow possesses a human vessel is the inverse of how one earns a persona, so that means Ishigami-san is getting brainwashed in the Shadow World and little by little breaking her mind until she becomes a husk of a person for a shadow inhabit. Just thinking about it is making my blood boil, those shadows… "Ichika, if class rep is getting that treatment since day one, then we need to kick her shadow's ass as soon as possible! Not just for the school, but for her!"

"Right." I nod back. Yeah, whatever bad blood they got before means little to nothing now, no one should suffer from that fate and become a shadow's puppet! She might have a reputation, and her shadow might reflect that being so cold and distant, but I have proof, I have witnessed another side of her, and I will make not only her shadow, but her see this! "Tomorrow, we begin operation '_Save Ishigami-san'_. We should rest for now, prepare some stuff and then we attack. Lily-san will be ready too!"

"Hell yeah. Let's save Class r-… I mean, Ishigami, and kick her shadow's ass up to next week!" He declares, cracking his knuckles and opening a grin.

I can feel the sheer determination of our will combined, and with that, I'm sure we'll be able to save Ishigami-san!

***TING!***

…?

**[I AM THOU, THOU ART I… THOU HAST ACQUIRED A NEW LINK OF TRUST…]**

**[IT SHALL GUIDE THEE ACROSS THE FAKE WORLD OF ILLUSIONS…]**

**[WITH THE BIRTH OF THE **_**FOOL**_** ARCANA, THOU SHALT BE BLESSED WITH A NEW POWER.]**

That again? I don't know why this keep happening, but for some reason, I feel… Warm. I feel filled with determination too! So, those are the bonds Igor was talking about. Maybe they won't be so bad…

*SNAP! SNAP!*

"Hey! Do I hear chatting up there! You stupid maggots, didn't you hear the bell?! BACK TO YOUR CLASSES!"

"Ah, crap! Fujitaka found us! Run away, ichika!" And cutting all the determination, Renji could only run to the other exit as we hear the snaps from the wooden sword of Fujitaka-sensei. Oh crap, we were so concentrated about our plan, we didn't notice the bell ringing announcing the end of lunch! As fast as possible, we made our escape as Fujitaka-sensei almost caught us!

But regardless, tomorrow, our plan shall take flight! Ishigami-san, please wait just a little bit longer! We shall save you from your own falseness!

* * *

**What are your thoughts? :3**  
**Don't worry. I shall try to implement more elements of the story like other confidants and the likes, and I think we all know who shall be one of those, but for now, let's save Ishigami! Until next chapter!**


	6. Confidant: the Magician 2

**Hey there, persona fandom. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, but after a while, i had no idea of how to incorporate some elements of the story organically. I put some chapters in a hurry, but after a while, i thought that maybe slowing it down a little might help and, like some reviewers has spoken, get to known some other characters a little. This is persona, after all. After some more wriring on my other stories and consideration, i think i get it now: So be aware: I'll try to write both confidants and plot hand by hand, and I hope this works, so if anything, leave a comment below like always to see if it worked. I love feedback! Now, onto the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: Persona and the SMT series belongs to atlus and its respective writers!**

* * *

**AFTER SCHOOL(Kagami High)**

'_Hey, Ichika, I know that we need to save Miss Prim'n'proper as soon as possible, but I think we should go slower now. That one last time almost broke me, so I don't feel all that hot.'_

'_How about I show you around Kagami High? I do owe you for saving me and, hey, I can still show you around while we talk about the Mirror World! What do you think? Are you in?'_

…

Maybe I should hang out with Renji a bit. After all, he is right, thinking too much about the Mirror World is exhausting, and like Lily-san said, if we come there either physically or mentally unprepared, we can become easy targets for shadows. Besides, we need an excuse to hang around a lot and being in one place might be too suspicious…

I still have a lot to learn about Kagami High too, so that won't be an issue as long as we keep it down a bit. So yeah, I guess I can hang out with him. I turned to him and nodded;

"Yeah, sure. Let's hang out a bit."

"Sweet! We should be looking around for new places to… Y'know. I think Lily can also get there if it doesn't kill him or anything!"

"Sounds great."

"Ah, but wait! We should grab a bite before going around. The cafeteria closes not longer after the end of classes, anyway."

"Okay."

...

After buying a couple of Yakissoba breads, me and Renji walked around Kagami High for a bit, him showing all the good placemarks like the library on the student's second floor, the auditorium next to the sports field and the P.E. Building connected to the Student's building. All in all, aside from _that_, Kagami High is a pretty mellow and typical high-school institute…

"Oh, and this is where the Kendo club trains once in a while! They're all so pretty girls, too bad they're violent as they come." A yakisoba bread on the mouth and pointing to the small dojo next to the P.E. Building, Renji pointed to the training girls inside with starry eyes. I biting my own sandwich, took a quick glance inside and yes, the girls training are pretty and very athletic, yet there's something about them that only speaks death. "I was caught spying on them last year, and not only Fujitaka wrecked my shit, but he allowed the entire team to gang up on me. I'm not that kind of guy, so it kinda hurt! No more, that's for sure!"

"Uh-huh." I said, munching on my Yakisoba bread. What do you know, even Renji has an history around here besides with Fujitaka. Speaking of those things, I turned to him. "Say Renji, why didn't you join any clubs? I mean, I think some of them would accept freshmen, no problems…"

"Nah, clubs are not my cup of tea." He says nonchalantly, wrapping the papers of his sandwich and tossing it elsewhere on a trashbin. I arch an eyebrow for him. "I mean, maybe I _could_ get to know a few more people and grow an interest or two in those, but I don't think I had the confidence or the interest in those things… Besides, now that I'm a Persona-user, I have my interests elsewhere, so to hell with clubs!"

"This isn't a game, y'know." I noted. He smiled sheepishly at me. I didn't want him to look bad or anything, but this reality check was important.

"I know, I know. I'm not bragging or anything. My bad." To my surprise, he was even more understandable that I thought he would be, and after a small awkward smile, he chuckled at me. I could feel his confidence and trust in me growing(🎶🎶). "I know this is not a game, but it's exciting nonetheless, eh? Like, we're discovering something so dangerous and cool, it's kinda impossible to not get excited, right? Right?"

"As long as you understand." I finished with a nod, and he just laughs to himself. Reality checks, those are always nice as mom… I mean, Ranko says, keep people grounded. I'm glad he understands that.

"So, you wanna go elsewhere and maybe pick something else? The cafeteria is closed, but the machines by it are still on, we can grab a few Mad Bulls for the trip!" He asks with a thumb up. I wonder what's his deal with Mad Bulls, if he doesn't slow down, he might literally grow wins like that. But I guess one drink won't hurt. I nod. "Great. Ah, but let's see if I still have some bucks left. Damn it, I hope I at least have some change…"

"Thinking ahead with your wallet upwards… You sure don't change, do you Akabane?"

"Eh…?"

"Hah…?" And cutting us from our little talk, someone else approaches the dojo on the P.E. building and comes closer to us, someone completely new but who Renji made an annoyed and tired face: he was a rather slender young man around our age and height with blond hair that was slicked back, hazel eyes behind thick and square-trimmed eyes and pale skin, a small mole decorating the lower side of his right eye. He was wearing Kagami High's uniform of checked pants, dark-blue blazer and white shirt but with a distinctive attire: a golden armband on his left arm with the words 'Discipline committee' written on it. Renji sighed a tired one as if he was barfing. "Oh hey there, **Kiku**-chan."

"That's '_**Tachibana-san'**_ for you, Akabane. Honestly, you should mind your words once in a while." That classmate of ours said in a stern yet somehow amicable tone as if he was lecturing Renji, whom could only roll his eyes and let out a small curse slip his lips. Wait, do they know each other or something? One, two seconds passed between us, and he adjusted the rim of his glasses. "That aside, I came here to inform you that some members of the Kendo club informed me that they saw two individuals walking around the dojo and thought they were peeping on them. Finding you, Akabane, I can only assume they were right."

"C'mon, Kiku. After last year's beatdown, I don't want to see a naked kendo master for a while." Shrugged Renji, while Tachibana-san frowned a little. I don't know if he's still on about the familiarity between him and Renji or the fact that he didn't believe the brunet's words at all, but he sounds upset. Renji nudged his head for me. "I was just taking Ichika here for a walk around Kagami High. He's a new transferred student, you see, so I want to show him around so he wouldn't bump into someone like you. Heheh…"

"Is that so?" ignoring Renji's taunt, Tachibana-san turned to me, softening his eyes to my direction, if just a little so he wouldn't intimidate me. I could only nod a little, since what he was saying was quite true. He didn't seem convinced though. "Katase-sensei talked to me about it. You're the new transferred student Ichika Amano, right? My name is **Kiku Tachibana**, and I'm a member of Kagami High's disciplinary committee. Tell me, is Renji really being helpful to you? I can literally find someone more qualified for this job than him on an instant if he's not being very useful to you."

"Asshole…" Renji cursed under his breath.

"Huuuuh~…?" Tachibana-san frowned while turning his head to Renji. Before they could argue, I called for his attention.

"Uh, yeah. Yes, Renji has been a lot of help for me around, Tachibana-san. He was… Just showing me the clubs I could be part later. It's not forbidden to do that, right?" I asked with a little wink, and Tachibana-san let out a small grunt while Renji gave me a thumb up again(🎶🎶). He blinked once, twice, and straightened his posture again so that he could look at both at us at the same time.

"I see. Very well, then." He says, putting his hands on his pockets and looking back at Renji to frown, colliding with Renji's mischievous tongue sticking out. Without saying a word for that, Tachibana-san turned to me one last time. "Just keep an eye on him, Amano. Make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble or anything. He's very prone of that."

"Hey…!" Renji interjected.

"Will do. Thank you, Tachibana-san…" I responded, and without further ado, Tachibana-san turned around and walked away from us, disappearing among the other students while slicking a few strings of his blond hair back. Renji spat somewhere and let out a 'tch' grunt looking at a fleeing Tachibana-san.

"Tch. Uptight bastard, that Kiku…" He pouted in a comic way, yet he didn't seem all that hurt or affected by those events, making me wonder more things. They do like they have some history together for such familiarity for Renji, although it seems it that is a thing with him regardless. Even so… I turned to him.

"Do you know him, Renji?" I asked. Renji turned his eyes to me, coughed a few times and scratched the back of his head as if he was thinking a little.

"Kinda. I mean, we do live right across the street and went to the same kindergarten. You can say we're sorta like childhood friends." He said, scratching his chin with a finger. Huh, I did wonder if they had some history, but it seems the rabbit hole is a lot deeper. I let out a small hum in curiosity and then continued. "He used to be such a meek and needy loser, I had to defend him from bullies back in the days before he had to transfer to other middle school because his parents' job. Then high school started and he became such an uptight asshole he became a member of the Disciplinary committee, so much we don't talk all that much anymore."

"That's sad." I noticed. So he lost a friendship right after high-school started, and since then he became the butt of the school for a while if him letting about his tales of perverted escapades are anything to go by. Even so, Renji shrugs, laughs to himself and pat me on the back.

"Meh, it happens." He smiles at me with another pat on my back. "But whatever, he can be as uptight as he wants now. Now, I have you to have my back on those trying times. I can trust my back to you, right?"

"…" I tilt my head a little to his declaration. He considers me a friend and someone trustworthy, despite the fact that we barely know each other at this point, it kinda warms my heart and makes me at ease. This guy… He's really something else, but above that, yes, he's my friend. I nod at him and we fist-bump. "of course."

"Awesome! I'm counting on you, Ichika!" He smiles, and I can only smile back.

I feel like my bond with Renji has grown a little…

***TING!***

…?

**[THE MAGICIAN – ⋆⋆LEVEL UP!****]**

Huh… I wonder what's that all about…

"Eh, but I guess we'll have to meet in some other place, otherwise Kiku will butt in everywhere we go, and because of _that_, that might be dangerous…" Renji sighed, but I have no answers for that, it is dangerous to talk about the Mirror World with so many people around and apparently an eagle-eyed Tachibana-san around.

"Do you… Do you know any good places to talk?" I suggested. Renji thought with himself a little and snapped his fingers.

"Hey, I got a great idea: we can talk about it on my old man's shop!" He suggests me, as I tilt my head again. "My old man as a coffee shop right somewhere near the station, but it's always deserted. Maybe we can start talking about those things there."

"Sounds perfect." I smiled. Renji nodded.

"Alright! So that's settled!" He concludes. Honestly, I wish I was as confident and energetic as him, but then again, it's that kind of power that gives people strength.

He showed me around Kagami High a little more and then we parted ways after school closed.

"See yah!"

* * *

**SOCIAL STATS – Ichika Amano:**

**-Knowledge**: ⋆(Oblivious)

**-Guts**: (Milquetoast)

**-Proficiency**: (Bumbling)

**-Kindness**: (Inoffensive)

**-Charm: ⋆**(Existent)

* * *

**CONFIDANTS:**

**0\. Il Pazzo – Rescue Squad(⋆):** A small group of persona-users, they vowed to rescue Miyu Ishigami from her Shadow in the Mirror World.

**I. Il Mago – Renji Akabane(⋆⋆):** A known prankster in Kagami High and ichika's classmate. Despite his personality, he's friendly and altruistic. Considers Ichika a friend.

**VII. Il Carro – Lily(⋆):** A mysterious being from the Mirror World. Little is known about him for now, but he trusts Ichika enough to consider him a disciple. The guide of the group.

* * *

**What are your thoughts? :3**

**I hope the little breather chapter has appealed to at least the majority of the readers and it didn't end up very confusing all things considered. I mean, it is still a persona fanfic, so I'll try to incorporate as much as possible in that regard. If it sounds too clunky or maybe too awkward, please let me know so that i can fix/improve on that. But that aside, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and wait for the next one, which I promise it'll come soon enough! the plot resumes next chapter, so look foward to it!**

**BTW, This time, the Arcanas are in Italian instead of english or french. As you know, it's kind of a motif since ichika's persona is italian in nature. I think it's cute, pls don't judge. :3**


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